Sacrifice
by Glitchrosedeath
Summary: Eric is exhausted, Alan is dying, and all he can do is hope to collect 1000 souls before it's too late. Eric/Alan, implied Grelliam, also some WiruRon and potential SebaRon in the background. I'm not good with summaries.
1. Deprivation

Eric needed sleep, his body was suffering, his mind slowing, he was hallucinating, delusional, irritable, every way out of character for him. He'd not slept in six weeks, there was no time to...he'd shower, get dressed, go in to the dispatch, file his paperwork, clean glasses, get through his quota of souls for the day, manage death scythes, whatever was possible. Once 6 pm rolled around, he was out the door and in the human world, collecting more souls for Alan. Regardless of how many people he killed, he never managed to get closer though it seemed. After last night he was up to 437, not even half and Alan seemed to be getting worse by the day! He pulled off his glasses and rubbed his eyes to clear away the growing hallucination in the filthy alley way he now stood in. The bodies of three young women were around him and his mind could no longer tell the difference. He saw one stand up and turn into Alan, coming at him with his death scythe, slicing him apart at the realisation of what he'd been doing. He slumped down in the filthy alley and shook his head, shuddering violently. He looked down at his clothes and sniffed, finally noticing how horrible he looked. He was filthy, his clothes were dirty and wrinkled, his blazer had a rip in the sleeve from catching on a nail. He was covered in blood and dirt, his glasses had...something...on them. Finally he came back to his senses and stood up, leaning against the wall. He slowly made his way out of the alley and dashed off, searching for more souls to gather...regardless of how long it would take.

"Finally, 20 more...and still not halfway there..." He sighed as he leaned against the door to his room, opening it slowly and tossing his jacket and death scythe into the kitchen. He would need to clean this place up, he needed to eat...he needed to shower! He jumped into the shower quickly after grabbing his clothes and sighed happily as the water hit his face, just the boost he needed. He sighed as he stepped out and put his glasses back on, looking at himself in the mirror. He looked terrible, there were huge bags under his eyes, he looked positively ragged from not eating, he needed a shave, his goatee was starting to blend into a full beard. He sighed as he left the bathroom, ruffling his hair and going to check his messages. "Let's see here..." Ronald wanting to party this weekend, Alan curious what was up with him lately, and the worst of all was from William, "Eric Slingby, I want to see you in my office immediately, we have a very serious issue regarding your current standard of work,"...damn. His lack of sleep was affecting his work, reports not fully done, filed improperly, or just not done at all. He swallowed hard as he got dressed and sat down to clean off his death scythe, though once he sat at the table, he put his head down and finally gave in to a much needed and very deep sleep, not worried about the consequences.

William pounded on the door angrily, rather annoyed that Eric's absence had caused overtime for everyone. The blond shinigami's declining quality of work was an added frustration to his ever growing pile of complaints. The only relief was that this issue wasn't Grell related, how he'd done better during training is a miracle. He adjusted his glasses and banged on the door again, this time with his death scythe and with more force. Finally the door opened and Eric stared at him, rubbing his eyes. It wasn't until he shook his shaggy blond hair out of his eyes that he realised who was glaring daggers at him. He stretched and moved aside as the man forced his way inside.

"Did you not get my message, Slingby? Your failure to show up has not only tarnished your record but your work has been extremely poor these last few weeks! I want a bloody good reason for your recent behaviour, no excuses, do you understand?" Eric was dumbstruck by the older man's outburst. His usually cold persona seemed to be lifted in exchange for outrage. Wait...his still fogged brain was slowly working out the reason why Will would be here. Retracing the steps from the time he'd left last night, killed 20 people, almost trampled by a carriage, had more hallucinations of Alan murdering him, showered, dressed...of course! He'd meant to go in after cleaning his scythe this morning, but instead he'd...yeah, he'd passed out. How would he explain that though? 'Sorry William, I've been murdering people to save Alan's life'? Not bloody likely! He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, trying to think up a good lie, what else could he do?

"I've not had a good night's sleep for the last six weeks...I don't know why, but...It's just been so hard to...I suppose I'm just worried about Alan? His health has been so unpredictable lately...!" William held up his hand and continued to glare. His outburst over, he'd returned to his usual stoic manner, giving the same cold glare as always. Eric was clinging to the wall and staring in shock, as was the usual reaction when William actually showed an emotion. He cleared his throat and looked away from the older shinigami, waiting for his punishment, what would it be? A pay cut? Massive overtime? Demotion even?

"You will report in early tomorrow, we will discuss this matter then. We will also discuss the consequences of your actions and how to make up for your low quality work," With that, the dark haired man left his quarters, not bothering to elaborate on his decision. The blond sighed and adjusted his glasses, closing the door behind the man and returning to the small kitchen. He sat down at the table and looked at his watch, so his assumption had been correct. He passed out this morning and completely missed work, lovely. The usual punishment for missing work was a pay cut and double overtime. What would his be with the low quality work included? For all he knew he could be doing library duty with Grell for the next few hundred years, very far from what he wanted and his ideal co-worker.

"He must be so worried..." In the thoughts of ideal co-workers...Alan's voice came over the voicemail, quiet and a bit shaky like he'd just had another attack. Eric perked up as he listened to it, shaking slightly.

"E-eric? Are you a-alright? I thought I'd stop by later...we've all been really worried about you Eric! But I still have work to—AAAH!" There was that attack he'd been so worried about. He stood up and grabbed his death scythe as he left the small flat, dashing off to the office. Overtime would not be easy if Alan kept getting worse. In his haste, he'd knocked over a plant or two and bumped into at least four people. Sleep deprivation and concern had made him more reckless than usual, not including his need to gather more souls for Alan. Before he knew it he'd reached the office and was running through the halls to find him. He found the younger man curled up by his desk, clutching his chest and reaching a hand out for his partner.

"It hurts!" He cringed as Eric pulled him into his arms, rocking him gently and brushing his hair out of his eyes. All he could do at this point was hold his partner close and comfort him, slowly pulling him up and supporting the smaller man's weight. He sniffed and help him into his desk chair, sitting in front of him on his knees. Alan knew better than to overwork himself, regardless of overtime or not. His health was far too fragile to handle the strain. Even on missions and filling the quota he had to watch himself, just in case he had a particularly nasty attack. "You look horrible, Eric..."

'Well you would too if you'd been sacrificing sleep to save your best friends life!' he kept his thought to himself though and merely rubbed the back of his neck. He yawned and sat back, looking up at the ceiling. "Yeah...guess I've been out partying too much with Ronald...he's a serious pistol once he' gets a bit of alcohol in him," shrugging and looking at his partners desk. It was organised much better than his, more like properly organised. His was a mess, at least lately it was, he really needed to fix that. He looked up as Alan cleared his throat quietly, placing a hand on his partners shoulder. How could he be so charming and compassionate when he knew that he could be ripped away by the Thorns of Death at any time?

"I still have so much work to do..." He motioned to what was actually a small stack of paperwork, most likely Eric's due to his absence today. Upon closer examination he realised it WAS his paperwork, and it wasn't fair for him to force his workload on Alan. He sighed and stood up, ruffling his soft brown hair as he turned back to his desk. Eric stood behind him and looked through the paperwork, reports about the people assigned for him yesterday. How many people had he been assigned to reap yesterday again? His quota and the victims he'd taken for Alan blurred together, that was not a good thing. Luckily he had the list of people to die yesterday, pulling a wrinkled up scrap of paper from his pocket and flattening it out was more than enough to prove that he'd absolutely not thought through to emptying his pockets before collecting souls last night. Usually he kept his 'to die' lists folded up and tucked away in a safe place to avoid such an issue. _'Hmm, must have forgot...'_

Alan looked up at him and nudged his arm gently, attempting to get his friends attention. The blond shook his head and looked at him quietly, gripping the desk for dear life almost. He didn't know why he was suddenly so on edge, was it Alan? The office itself? Not quite, but something hung heavy in the air between them in that heavy silence, he just wasn't sure what. This wasn't the first time, in the past the air around them would become heavier, time would seem to stop, even the outside world couldn't penetrate whatever strange bubble would envelop them, or at least Eric. It had been like that for a long time now, when Alan first became ill it was heavier. He swore to do anything he could to help him live as long as possible. Until he'd heard about collecting the 1,000 souls, he couldn't do anything else besides help Alan get to a place for rest and to keep an eye on him just in case. That was about the only positive thing he'd ever heard from the mad Undertaker, until he said it was only a myth. That was when Eric's heart sank again, if that was a myth then it's possible that it's happened before! It wasn't going to be easy but he would collect the 1,000 souls even if it killed him.


	2. Nightmare

**A/N: **Oh man, I'm sorry about not updating this story here! I'd lost the file and then found it again! And thought some extra dimensions might be good for this story._  
><em>

_Eric shook his head as he woke up in his office, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He hadn't meant to fall asleep in the middle of working again but luckily he had no souls to collect that day, only paperwork. But the busywork was so boring that he had fallen asleep in the middle of writing a report. He ruffled his hair some and sat up properly in the chair, looking around quietly. It was silent, dark, oddly spooky, There was no Ronald whining about how he would be late for party, Grell was oddly silent instead of flirting with the rest. William, well William merely standing was enough of a noise in itself, his mere aura of discipline making him almost menacing. Then there was Alan...the quiet from his end was the most disturbing, could he have had an attack? Was he still there? What if he had died? The thorns hitting his heart before Eric could even stop it._

"_This isn't right...Where is everyone?" He stood quickly and opened the door, glancing around, it was dark, both in the office and outside, but it couldn't be! He glanced at his watch then back to the windows, "But it should be broad daylight...this can't be right...it's only noon..." He stepped further out of his office and almost fainted, covering his mouth. In an instant, he covered his nose and mouth and clenched his eyes shut. The smell of death and fear and suffering invaded his nose, almost making him faint. Even with his pathetic attempt to hide the smell it still hit him, making him lean against the wall as he walked along. He stopped once he reached the end of the hallway, cringing as the smell became stronger. He finally looked up and almost fainted, the bull-pen was...well there weren't any words to describe it. _

_From what he could see, the others had basically been shredded and their innards thrown against the walls. Past that, he saw what looked like a message on the walls. He barely noticed the handwriting, or how familiar it was upon examining it. The main thing he'd noticed when he glanced at it was what had been used to write it. The text written in blood made him step back and look around frantically, searching for Alan. Dashing through the halls wasn't even close to distracting him from the sight and horrible smells of the massacred office. Finally he slipped on something or other and hit the ground hard, glasses falling off his face. The second he slid them back on he saw Alan curled up in a ball nearby, looking completely lifeless. He crawled over and turned the brunette over to face him, almost fainting from what he saw. From the look of it, Alan looked like a corpse, as if all the life had been sucked out of him by the Thorns. Was that it? How did he not manage to find him sooner? He could have saved Alan! Couldn't he?_

"_Oh Alan...I'm so sorry...I really tried..." He pulled the body close and started sobbing, clinging to it and hardly noticing the figure sneaking up behind him..._

"Oi! Eric, what are you doing? The boss is on his way down here and he's gonna have a fit if he sees you sleeping!" Eric had been startled awake by the kid for that? Whatever happened to just shutting the door and lying for him? Ronald stared quietly as Eric shook his hair out his eyes, obviously still tired. He looked back at Ronald and narrowed his eyes, "Are you alright? You looked like you were having a turn...and-"

"Shut it kid, I'm fine. Just a little tired, that's all. Besides shouldn't you be fawning over William or something?" Rubbing the sleep from his eyes as best he could at least attempting to not look like he'd just been having one hell of a nightmare on top of it. Speaking of nightmares...the mere thought of it had Eric up and shoving Ronald to the ground as he dashed out of the office to find Alan. He had to make sure that he was alright, unable to forgive himself if something happened to him.

"Alan! Alan, where are you? Are you alright?" Of course he had nothing to worry about, Alan was pulling on his coat as he left his desk. Of course, he'd not gone to do his collections for the day yet, had he? Eric ruffled his hair some as he made his way over, glad that the side he usually slept on was the side his braids were on. He remained quiet as the brunette picked up his scythe and walked past him, cringing as he pulled Grell from his office. William's orders of course, Grell gets in trouble again and ends up with a temporary partner in the shape of one Alan Humphries. And what did he end up with? Ronald Knox, with a noisy scythe and an insane crush on the boss.

"Awww but Allieee~, do we have to? It's cold and windy and grey and the rain will mess up my hair~!" The redhead pulled on a flashy red overcoat as he ran after his temporary partner, still whining about his hair.

"I don't care about your hair. We have a job to get done and we're going to see it through to the end, got it?" Such a little clone of William that kid was. At least when it came to work, he didn't like procrastinating, overtime, or disorganisation. He was quiet, level-headed, not much of a partier, didn't care for drinking. Though that wasn't saying the he didn't at all, he just didn't do it to the extent of the others. In every way he was Eric's opposite, but that's why he lo—was such good friends with him! That's the ticket. Friends and nothing else, although everyone else would say otherwise for sure, not sure why that was but it was the last thing he was worried about. He sniffed a bit and looked up in time to see Alan look back and give him a weak smile

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><p>Ronald sighed as he slipped the fedora on his head and made to leave the almost empty office, rubbing his arms as he walked through and passed by William's office. Quite surprising, the door was open and the windows didn't have the shades drawn for once. The blond stopped and peeked in to catch a view of William, since no one had ever seen the man outside of workovertime hours. Of course there were the few occasions Ronald or Alan would come in early and find their boss asleep at his desk, glasses perched on top of a high set of files and the boss with his head on another set, hair messed up and snoring quietly. They'd started keeping blankets at their desk for that purpose and even managed to sneak one into the bosses office, covering him over whenever they caught him.

"It's very rude to stare, Mr Knox," The blond jumped out of his thoughts and looked up to see William sitting on the large leather sofa instead of his desk for once. His office really was a very decent size. Large enough to fit his desk and chair on one side, then the other side contained a plan black leather sofa and black cherry coffee table. Past that the office was bare aside from shelves and file cabinets lining the walls. Complete with the boss sitting there, blazer slung over his desk and tie loosened. Whatever he was looking at must have been rather interesting as Ronald barely held his focus for even a moment.

"Uh, Boss? It's snowing out..." Talk about lame! Ronald mentally slapped himself for not coming up with something better than that. Regardless of that fact, it had caught William's attention again, cold green eyes almost piercing his soul.

"What's your point, Knox?"

"Well, it's a getting pretty heavy...I'd head home before it becomes an all out blizzard..." William continued to stare silently before standing and turning to face the window, not even fazed by the thick blanket of white coating everything it could.

"So it is. Thank you, Knox. Luckily it's a rare occasion, I have no overtime...otherwise I might have been trapped here," Ronald didn't even see the older Shinigami gather his things, instead the next thing he saw was William locking the door to his office and nodding before he left the blond alone in the hallway. Good thing William hadn't looked back, Ronald was freezing from the coldness of his stare.


	3. Humphries

**A/N:** So it's slightly longer now. And it's a more Alan centric really. Poor baby. I appreciate the reviews you guys are leaving, they're very sweet and I shall do my best to keep you guys satisfied! Although does anyone else think that Eric and Alan weren't always so lovey dovey as they are now?

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><p>"You're such a liar, Alan! This is worse than the rain, my hair's all matted and it's gonna get frizzy! How could you~?" Alan glanced over silently before turning his attention back to the current record. The weather had been just fine when they left, a little grey but nothing else! Though that grey gave way to rain and eventually snow. It's a good thing that this was their last soul for the day otherwise they might end up stranded in London and buried into the snow. The longer it took for Alan to view the record, the worse both the snow and Grell's bitching got. "And it's freezing out here! William hates it when I get cold! Even at the academy, he was always like 'Oh Grell, you're freezing~. Now I must warm you u-'"<p>

"Shut up, Sutcliff. Mr. Spears would never act so unrefined and even you know that. And please keep your fantasies to yourself! I don't want to hear them and neither does anyone else! Especially Mr. Spears, for sure!" He stood up straight and marked the name completed before walking away from the corpse. It was all too common for there to be dead bodies in the middle of the street in this part of London. It made Alan sad though, these poor people had so much to offer and yet they were never able to prove themselves. "Sorry...maybe we should get some hot cider or something before we go back? Don't wanna be freezing after all, right?" The redhead grinned and began to skip ahead to the nearest tavern, leaving Alan to walk slowly and silently behind him. The young reaper sniffed a little and rubbed his arms from the cold, pulling his collar up with little success.

"In here, Allie~! It's warm and they have such pretty red bows!" Grell waved as Alan finally caught up to him, looking inside before they stepped out of the way for a fellow reaper.

"Evenin' Mr. 'Umphries,...Sutcliff. 'Eadin' 'ome are ya? Best be off now, ain't gonna be wise with that wind soon," The two stood silent as he tipped his hat and dashed off to return to the office. Maybe he was right, the weather was getting any better. The wind has begun to pick up as well as the snow, it was literally blinding. A shout from inside the pub caught their attention as they walked in, glasses fogging up from the sudden shift in temperature.

"I doubt it'll get that bad. He's probably just trying to make us paranoid, you know how he is, right? Terrible track record, always dumpi-"

"My GOD Alan, will you shut up about work? Who cares about some Cockney idiot with no idea how to have fun? Come on, let's enjoy the warmth and maybe find us some pretty young men to keep us even warmer~!" The brunette blushed at the obviously dirty tone in Grell's voice, along with his sudden very obscene manner of rubbing his hands all over himself.

"Grell, please have some control! People will think you're ill acting like that!"

"Excuse me, did you say Grell? Mr. Humphries, what are you doing here? You two should have been back hours ago! Any reapers still here are forbidden from returning to the Dispatch for safety reasons," The older secretary stood and walked over to them, not even fazed by the two reapers staring at her in shock. To get technical she was the Supervisor of General Affairs in the London Dispatch, and barely ever came to the human world. But what she was doing there now, in a pub, and getting very close to Alan was beyond them. The brunette backed up the closer she got and searched around for Grell, scowling when he saw the redhead was sweet-talking his way into spending the night with...the barman? What in the—He squeaked loudly when he hit a chair and the head secretary stood above him, sliding her fingers through his hair.

"Don't worry Mr. Humphries...I promise to be gentle..."

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><p>Alan was clutching his chest silently, attempting to stay as silent as possible as he suffered through another attack. This one luckily was relatively mild, brought on by his three rounds with the secretary now fast asleep next to him. He wasn't usually attracted to women but the four mugs of spiked cider and egg nog had made him think otherwise. One of the consequences to him not being a big drinker, unlike Grell, Ronald and Eric. Even spiked drinks hit him rather hard, but he never worried about when he did get drunk. Eric would always take him home, make him some tea, rub his back when he got ill and even curled up with him so he wouldn't have any nightmares. That had been their way for god only knows how long now, although he wished it had been that way from the off.<p>

"_Come along, Mr. Humphries, we better hurry. Mr. Spears will have an aneurysm if you're late!" The girl had been running down to the Collection department's floor all the way from Human Resources. She stopped only for a moment to drag Alan out of the Glasses department. He'd only got back from his final exam not two hours ago and already he was being pulled to his new division. He was worse back then, a clone of William in all ways but appearance. He sprinted to keep up with her and scowled when they finally stopped. _

"_Are you insane, woman? How dare you act like I'm some sort of slacker! I'm an honor student for goodness sake! Do you ha-"_

"_Oi! Will you shut up out here? Some of us are trying to nurse a hangover here and your squawking isn't helping!" Alan stopped and looked over to see a very angry and VERY unprofessional looking shinigami. He swallowed hard and waited for him to continue yelling, which he was sure he was had he still been listening. The man was pretty striking aside from the sneer and bloodshot eyes, though his tinted lenses hid that for the most part. His shirt and tie needed to be fixed right away, with the tie being basically just slung around his neck but not knotted and his shirt half unbuttoned. His blazer needed a serious pressing, shoes needed shining, hair...where to begin? It was insanely wavy, and needed a trim like nobody's business, and why was the opposite side braided into cornrows? "Hey, you! Are you deaf? Why are you still here? Bugger off back to the academy!" the man slammed the door in Alan's face to leave him alone in the Collection department. _

"_Wait...so where's this Mr. Spears guy?"_

"Mr. Humphries? Are you feeling well?" The secretary looked up at him quietly, obviously he wasn't quiet enough to leave her some peace. He cleared his throat a bit and wrapped an arm around her, trying to keep her calm. "You're shaking like a leaf my dear, are you cold? Perhaps I could-"

"Oh YES!" They both jumped at the sound of Grell shouting at the top of his lungs, far too shameless about what he was doing. Of course, Sutcliff could wake the dead at this rate, couldn't he?

"I um, I'm gonna take a walk..." He swallowed heavily and slid out of the bed quickly, pulling on his clothes and dashing out and down the stairs to leave the pub as he continued to dress himself, leaving the secretary to watch confused and shivering.

"_Don't be ridiculous, there is no way in HELL I am working with some idiot who just got his glasses five minutes ago!" Eric shoved Alan out of his office and slammed the door shut._

"_I am not an idiot! I was an honor student at the academy thank you very much!" Silence. Three days and of this and Alan was starting to get fed up. Every morning Alan would come in, avoid the insane redhead that pranced around and go straight to Eric's office, not talking to anyone on the way. They never talked about anything interesting, they always gossiped about which secretary was dating what supervisor, what the humans were doing in their world, but never anything worth discussing like the amended approval forms sent out by the Death Scythe Department and General Affairs. They could have been talking about the revised forms regarding transfers and suspensions from Human Resources, at least!_

"_Maybe I should just move my desk out here..." At this rate he'd be taking up residence in the Collection division hallway anyway. The academy only allowed graduates to remain in the dorms for a month after they left and Alan had no money for a decent place. He sighed and began walking down the hall to a large cluster of desks, some occupied but most of them empty. He'd heard that the London Dispatch was notoriously short staffed. That didn't bother him though. He set his coat on one of the desks and got right to work on what paperwork he still needed. He'd yet to confirm his assigned department, fill out the remaining forms regarding his glasses, get a start on approval forms regarding his death scythe, and...Eric's paperwork? "That...that...that bastard! I'm not doing that party boys paperwork for him!"_

"_Then don't. Eric's a right bastard to ev'ryone 'cept ol' Will in there. Ya need to scare 'im or prove yer not just some academy nerd," The man stood up and grabbed his death scythe, looking like hedge clippers."Best o' luck ta ya, kid," And he was off. Alan stared quietly in his direction and almost didn't realise his pen was still touching the paper, or that a massive black line was now on the page. He bit his lip and looked around terrified. Luckily he'd not put his name on it yet and instead drew a huge saw on the page, scribbling on Eric's name quickly before sliding it to the bottom of the pile. _

"_I'm in so much trouble..."_

"_No. But you will be if your ass doesn't get a move on, Intern. Now get up!" He looked up and Eric was glaring right at him. "The hell are you just sitting there for? Get your scythe and let's go! I have no desire to do overtime!" He pulled Alan up and handed him a scythe like William's, his own hanging over his shoulders. It was kind of fascinating that his was very plain, it looked like a proper scythe except for being all black with a twisty silver design on the blade. The older brunette started walking off, not bothering to wait for Alan._

"It just keeps getting worse..." He sighed as a young woman ran into a doorway, trying without success to block out the brutal wind and snow. He stopped by an old building to attempt figuring out where he was. He'd been so lost in though and confused in the dark that he wasn't even sure he was still in London. The only thing he was sure of was that he was tired and very hungry. By this time he would be curled up in front of the fire with Eric, soft music on the radio, and no worries about ending up in bed with a strange woman. Eric would have made sure they got back safe and in time to even go out with Ronald for a bit or something, although he'd prefer to be alone with his mentor instead. It'd been ages since they had an evening to themselves, or even a day off at the same time. What Alan was missing the most though was Eric's cooking. The man could make anything out of some old cheese and a dried loaf of bread. "Man what I wouldn't give for some of his stuffed artichokes...or maybe some fried salmon with mint sauce. Oh, and some cheesecake...with raspberries on top and some of that aweswome hot cocoa with chilis...oh man-" He sighed happily and rubbed his arms again, warming up just at the thought of Eric's amazing cocoa. At least until the warmth in his chest started burning a little too much. He cringed and fell to the ground when his chest began to sting, gasping for breath and curling up in a ball. He cringed and heard a pair of footsteps approaching before everything went black.


	4. Slingby

**A/N: **So...yeah. They can't have always been so cute with each other. But i think it took some breaking down to get there. I'll bring back the others next chapter i swear! I'll do my best to post because this next two weeks is finals, but I shall try! ^_^ Again, thank you for the reviews!

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><p>"Ugh...where...?" Alan yawned and looked around as best he could, trying to place both where he was and what happened to his glasses with no luck. Past the lack of glasses he realised he was no longer freezing, in fact he was dry and warm and...inside. He found his glasses and slipped them on quickly, looking around properly to get his bearings. It was dark except for a light and glorious smell coming from what could be the kitchen. The heat form the fireplace wafted through the room and over to the large dark blue couch Alan was currently curled up on. He looked down and recognised the black and white paisley comforter as well as the oversized black pajamas as Eric's. But, Eric's place was usually a lot more disorganised wasn't it? Then again he'd not been to Eric's place an a few months, though the last time he barely remembered. Before he could get too carried away with his thoughts, the smell of warm chocolate, chili and warm cherries distracted him, as well as the sight of a certain blond sitting across from him.<p>

"You know...for an honor student you really aren't all that intelligent," Eric looked up and smiled at his partner, offering him a mug of his special cocoa. Hot chocolate with milk and chilis and whiskey for extra warmth, perfect for any occasion even when the weather was insanely hot out. He smiled as Alan took the mug and sipped it quietly, smiling a bit and laying his head down again. "What were you thinking wandering around like that? You could have died out there! You could have caught a cold or had an even nastier attack than you did! I mean do you have any idea how worried I w-"

"But I didn't, did I? And now I'm fine, I'm not in any immediate danger now and...and maybe I should head home now," He pulled the blanket off and made to get up, only to be stopped by an annoyed, exhausted Eric Slingby. He blinked and stared up at the blond, pushing up his glasses before they fell off. "Eric, please, I'm fine. Honest, I mean it's not that bad out, is it? And what on earth have you been drinking? Your breath is terrible! I mean, you worry about my health, I should be worry-" He was cut off by Eric grabbing the front of his pajamas and pulling him close and into a rough kiss.

"Stay here, Allie~. I need to go get somethings from Ronnie-bug...I'll be back as soon as I can," He ruffled Alan's hair before climbing off of him and adjusting his glasses. "I won't get eaten by the snow, don't worry..." He sniffed and grabbed his coat and scythe before leaving the flat and Alan.

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><p>Eric sighed as he stood in a small alley to avoid the wind, the snow wasn't stopping anytime soon but he could at least not suffer windburn while we was out. He finally managed to light a cigarette and came out of the alley, looking around for another few souls to gather. After suffering through the masses of overtime he finally was able to get back to helping his partner. He sighed and heard some noise or other over the blasting winds.<p>

"What the hell...?" He narrowed his eyes and finally looked up at an open window. From it were the sounds of maybe a either a prostitute or a very dramatic actress moaning and shouting like it was going out of style. He took a heavy drag from the cigarette and began to climb up the fire escape, stopping when he hit the window and standing outside of it. Once he got there he realised unfortunately that it wasn't quite the latter. It was an actress alright, a young alto who'd become very popular at the opera lately by the looks of her, and one of the stage hands. If her manager only knew...He peeked into the window once more and only then realised that she looked very similar to Alan. He swallowed and stared silently, holding his breath to avoid scaring them and to keep his mind from wandering. He really did feel terrible leaving Alan alone like he did, but the thought of him in his flat made his stomach do flips. Not like they'd ever done anything of that sort of course, Alan was far from the type to and on top of that, he didn't even have those sort of feelings for Eric! A particularly load groan from the couple inside startled Eric and he stood up again quickly. He swallowed hard and peeked in to see them cuddling in the small room.

"Damn...talk about loud,"he was glad the wind covered his voice and slipped through the window, cutting the girl with his saw as he went. She didn't even feel it or see Eric go past them, smiling as he could add the soul to his list. He sighed as he left the flat silently, glad that his scythe was a bit more portable in situations like this now.

"_Mr. Slingby, I'm from the death scythe department, I have your modified scythe," Eric blinked and looked up from his paperwork. He'd not filled out anything to have his scythe modified, at least not tht he could remember right away. It hit him then, that kid, the one he's supposed to mentor Albert or Andrew, whatever his name is,had forms to modify a scythe, didn't he? He shook his head and stood up, looking at the intern. He was struggling with holding two scythes, both made only an hour or so by the looks of them. They were quite nice really, though which one was Eric's he couldn't tell, at least until he saw a small note engraved on the handle of a very large and very sharp saw. _

"_Mr. Slingby, sorry for causing so much trouble. I'll try to do better! A. Humphries" The brunette chuckled and took the saw from the kid, tossing it in the air a few times and giving it a few swipes. _

"_Kid didn't have to do that. I'd prefer he hadn't...who's the meat cleaver going to?" He nodded in regards to the other scythe the man was holding. It did look like a meat cleaver with an extended handle, and really very shiny. He winced a bit and waited for an answer, getting one when Alan slinked into the office ad looked at them, only just realising what he was holding._

"_Is that my new scythe? Oh, it's beautiful! Thank you so much!" He grinned and took the cythe from him and twirled it around in his hands. "Thank you so much for taking the trouble, If there's anything I can do to repay you, let me know!" The man nodded and left eh two alone, Eric's demeanor instantly changing._

"_What gives you the right to go behind my back and request a new scythe for me, huh?" He grabbed Alan's bolo tie and pulled him close, free had raised to slap him. "You think that because you're new and because I'm hard on you, that you would grow the balls to do something like THAT? You can't even collect a soul on your own without begging for help! Whatever moron let you out of the academy should get their head checked! Now get your things and bugger off, Hancock!" He slapped the young reaper hard enough to sed him to the ground and returned to his desk, tossing the saw across the room._

"_Y-yes sir...s-sorry..." He sat there shaking for a moment before collecting himself quickly and grabbing his things. It had been two months by now and Eric still treated him like garbage! What would he have to do to change his mind? "And by the way...It's Humphries. HA-MU-FU-RI-ZU, try to remember it, you bastard," He narrowed his eyes and slammed the door shut on his way out._

Eric ran a hand through his hair as he wandered through the ballet dorms of the opera house, looking for at least a few girls that could serve his purpose. In retrospect, he really could have been a lot nicer to Alan when they first met up. He really hadn't meant to be but after a hundred years of nothing but rules, overtime, black suits and everyone being the same, he was over it. He was disillusioned and angry and done with being a shinigami, all he wanted to be a regular human again. Maybe not with the life he'd had before though. He sighed as he slid his saw along another girls body and dashed off. Alan must be worried beyond anything.

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><p><em>Alan sighed as he made his way back up to the office, wiping the blood of of his scythe on the way. He stopped in Eric's office and set his jacket down, stopping when he saw an envelope on his desk from the academy. He knew exactly what it was, they'd allowed him three months to remain in the dorms instead of one due to his honour student status. He bit his lip and turned over the envelope to open it, a little annoyed to find it had already been opened and read. <em>

"_You've got to be kidding. That no good arrogant playboy read my letter? Ugh, how dare! What nerve! I bet he's probably throwing a party in honour of my being thrown out into the streets! I knew I should have gone to the—eh?" He stopped when a second pale green envelope caught his attention. He set the academy letter down and picked up the envelope, turning it around in his hands. There was no indication of who it as from aside from the handwriting. Although that was a bit difficult to place as it was much fancier than the usual, only writing "Alan Humphries" on the front of the envelope. "Did he...?"_

"_Oh come on William, the kid's got nowhere else to go,"_

"_Forget it, Slingby. If Mr. Humphries has failed to file papers regarding housing by now then that's his responsibility. You would do well to stay out of it."_

"_Oh come on! Be reasonable for once, Mr. Spears..." the voices vanished as they went futher away, leaving Alan alone again. He bit his lip and opened the envelope slowly, pulling out a short letter written on the same green paper:_

"_Alan, I know that I'm hard on you and for that you might be rather hateful towards me. There's a key and some money for rent and directions to my flat. If you'd rather sleep in the office then fine. Do whatever the hell you want, but know that you can always crash with me if you need to. E" Alan smiled a bit and pulled out a rather large amount of pound notes and a key from the envelope, smiling a bit. He heard footsteps approaching again and shoved them into his desk drawer, instead gathering his last few files and leaving to return to the dormitories. He had only one week left there and he was going to get the most out of it or die trying._


	5. Eavesdropping

**A/N: **So back to a little bit of pulling in the other characters.After all it can't be all about Eric and Alan, can it? A little more of my theory of Eric and Alan not exactly having a smooth and steady relationship in the beginning. Such a Tsundere Eriku is, ne? So maybe I am breaking his walls down a bit faster than one would like but you never know! Their past can be pretty interesting if you give it the right opportunity! Anyways, your reviews are very charming! Now onto ze story! ^J^

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><p>"<em>OOOOOH, Mr. Slingby? OH Alan, you're so lucky! I heard he's one of the best in the Collections Department!" Alan looked up from the book he'd buried his nose in and stared at his former roomate like he was crazy.<em>

"_He's got a very funny way of showing it, Thomas. He may be a great reaper but he's got a terrible personality! He's rude and angry and he swears and he calls me Hancock! He's always hungover and never looks professional and he undermines everyone in that office! He's got the worst personality in the world and he's extremely unprofessional! In short I could-"_

"_Whoa whoa! Easy Alan, I wasn't trying to ruffle your feathers, I just meant...well I honestly didn't know that he was such a hassle. I mean, has he even tried to be nice to you? He can't be all bad after all..." Alan set down the book and looked right at the other reaper, running a hand through his hair. He had noticed that Eric was either ignoring him entirely or attempting to make some type of conversation. Aside from the note Eric had left him, he'd really not seen much of anything else involving a gesture of kindness. Honestly though, he'd rather not tell his best friend about that to avoid him taking it the wrong way._

"_No. All he does is glare at me, call me an idiot and throw me out of his office the second I come in. I don't even know why he took the assignment of mentor if he doesn't even bother. And he doesn't approve of how I collect souls either..."_

"_Then why not show him that you can collect souls just as well as he can? I mean, maybe he's being hard on you because he has high expectations? I've heard that the supervisor is super picky anyway. Smith, his name is?"_

"_Spears. And you got lucky Tom, Mr. Anderson I hear is a little more laid back about that sort of thing," He picked the book back up and started looking through it again, "What if that doesn't work...?" Thomas looked up from the glasses frames he'd been repairing and blinked, very much lost for words._

"_Honestly, I don't know, Al...perhaps you could have sex with him?"_

"_Are you mad? That's disgusting! And it's wrong too! Everyone knows that it's wrong for two men to be together!" Thomas just stared at him, trying not to laugh._

"_It can't be all that wrong, I mean there's only like...twenty women in general affairs and the rest of the Dispatch personnel are all men. Just think about it, Al..." He went back to repairing the glasses and sighed quietly. "What're you reading anyway?"_

"_Hmm? It's about diseases... Fascinating stuff, especially the Thorns of Death, so tragic and lovely at the same time, don't you think?" _

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><p>Eric yawned as he entered his flat silently, running a hand through his hair and stopping when he saw the couch was empty, comforter folded up and no sign of Alan anywhere. Of course he probably had gone home, never to speak to him again. He ran a hand through his hair and threw his coat onto the sofa, slipping his shoes off by the fireplace before he knelt down to stoke it. The flames attempted to come back to life only to return to embers five seconds later. This was crazy, Alan usually put the fire out before he left Eric's, safety reasons or some noise like that...so he must still be here. Perhaps he'd moved to Eric's room to get a more comfortable rest? Or maybe he'd-<p>

"Oooohhhhh..." What the? The blond stood up instantly, holding the poker tightly still and glancing around the flat. There had to be someone else around here somewhere, and judging by the slight echo that came with the noise, they were in the bathroom. He swallowed hard and held the poker tight, slowly and silently making his way to the bathroom. He stopped in the hallway to listen again, raising an eyebrow and perking his ears for the noise again, honestly hoping it was just another hallucination. He heard moaning again and stood straight. It sounded like Alan, and perhaps he was in pain! What if he was having another attack? He could be drowning for heaven's sake! Eric sighed and stoood right in front of the door, pressing his ear to it and biting his lip.

"Nnnngh, Eric~..." The blonde straightened up and put his shoulder against the door opening it quickly. He stoped and stared wide eyed when he saw Alan with an equally shocked expression, not too sure what to say. "Eric, what the hell are you doing? Couldn't you have knocked first? I mean...get out!" Eric just remained there silent and still, only blinking a few times.

"I...I thought...I mean, You sounded like you were...in pain..." He swallowed hard and tore his eyes away from Alan, still sitting in the tub with his knees pulled up to his chest and blushing furiously. Really it was kind of cute, despite that he'd seen Alan blush multiple times thanks to Grell but this was a different animal entirely. "Oh my God, Alan I'm so sorry!" He looked down and slammed the door shut, dashing through the flat and out to the balcony, shaking his head and pulling out a cigarette, struggling to light it. "Oh, Alan..."

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><p>Ronald was sitting on his desk while he waited for Eric to come in, slightly concerned with the fact that both he and Alan hadn't shown up yet. <em>'Maybe <em>_they __finally __hooked __up __like __everyone's __been __saying?'_ Nah, they acted too much like brothers for there to be any form of intimate feelings between them, right?

"Knox! How many times have I told you to refrain from sitting on your desk? Ignore me again and you'll be sent back to the academy, understood?" The blond was startled by the sound of Will coming out of his office, narrowing his eyes before he was distracted by a certain redhead. Ronald remained on his desk and just stared at him, swallowing a bit. To say that Knox wasn't afraid of William would be a heavy lie, but at the same time it was something that was rather alluring. "Knox! Off your desk! NOW!"

"Huh? Oh, right! Sorry Boss, didn't mean to..." He hopped of the desk and looked at the other reapers. He'd not been around long enough or had enough reason to warrant having his own office. William was a manager, Eric had been around so long though he heard that the older blond had taken his own office instead of a promotion. Alan was sick of course and Grell...tch, Grell probably sucked off Will enough times to convince him. He on the other hand was stuck in the big open area that was completely made of desks, not that he minded or anything. Just a few years ago, William had allowed them to move around the desks however they pleased, most just left them in place but some moved them around, Ronald included by sliding it against the window. He sniffed a bit and ran a hand through his hair, deciding to perhaps talk to William about Eric and Alan not showing up yet. Aside from the quiet scratching of pens against paper and the clicking of Ronald's shoes against the marble floors, it was eerily silent. Grell was being strangely quiet which meant he was either plotting or he'd run off after that...creature again.

"...But Will~~..."

"I don't care Sutcliff, my answer if final. You know my schedule is far too busy to allow for such things. And this in itself shouldn't even be going on,"

"You mean...William, you can't be serious. It's been far too long for you to be so casual about this. What the hell even gives you the audacity to throw away almost an entire century?"

"Do not swear in my office, Sutcliff. Besides, this is hardly something I'm willing to do but I don't have a choice. Your recent actions though have made the circumstances as such that it can't go on," Ronald leaned against the wall and looked at the ground. So Grell wasn't lying about him and the boss being a couple, or at least they used to be a couple by the sound of it. He bit his lip and shifted his weight slightly, attempting to hold his breath as he felt a sneeze coming on. No dice, he covered his mouth as he sneezed and shuddered slightly, looking up to see William glaring down to his very core, his eyes burning with pure rage.

"Overtime, Knox." He narrowed his eyes and waited for Ronald to answer, raising an eyebrow imploringly.

"B-Boss...I'm so sorry, I didn't mean..." before he could apologise properly, William slammed the door in his face to leave him dumbstruck. He swallowed and felt a strong hand on his shoulder.

"They'll be back together in a few weeks, just watch kid," He looked back to see Eric standing there with Alan, looking slightly flustered. It was a lot more tense than usual between them and something was hanging heavy in the air, he just couldn't place what.

"Ronald? Was Grell in there? I was hoping he'd be around so we could get to work..." Ronald remained silent then shook himself slightly, shoving Eric's hand off of him and walking off quickly. Eric looked back at Alan and swallowed hard, ruffling his hair a bit.

"Was it just me...or does he look like he's trying not to cry?"


	6. Awkward

**A/N: **Poor Ronald! The boy can't catch a break, can he? Not just in the story, I mean, in general! -hugs him- This pissed off my Ronald muse actually so he might not allow me to write him for a while. I hope not though! Your reviews are very sweet, and I'm very grateful to everyone reading, you have no idea how much I appreciate that people like my writing! Anyways, on to the story! ^J^

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><p>"Ronald...What's been up with you and the boss lately?" Eric lit a cigarette as they stood on a rooftop during their break, watching the various people down below. Ronald had been acting funny since they left the office. He was way more quiet and sombre than he usually was and it made Eric worried. He might not enjoy having a different partner until Grell was allowed to work solo again but at least Ronald was mildly entertaining. Today though he was silent and cold and all around depressed. "You know you can talk to me, right? If you need to vent, I'm here for you..."<p>

"Yeah, that's real bloody easy for you to say, right? You've got it all figured out, ne? Great job, nice office, Alan in your bed every night. What gives you the right to act like you know how I feel, huh? Everyone's got somebody, 'cept little ol' Ronnie, eh? You know what, Eric? Fuck you and horse you rode in on, alright? Unless you get your heart shattered by Alan, then don't talk to me, got it?" The younger blond scowled then hopped to another rooftop, making his way to finish his soul collections without Eric.

"What the hell did I do...? Tch, kids..."He sighed and shook his head, looking down at the snow covered roof to see he'd been doodling absently with his finger. Thank goodness for leather gloves otherwise his finger might be frostbitten. He swallowed when he realised he'd been drawing little stick figures of him and Alan kissing cutely and brushed it away quickly. "I must be going crazy...no more hanging out with Grell..." He cleared his throat and stood up, skipping rooftops after Ronald. Perhaps work would get his mind off of his fantasies about Alan. He stopped when he saw Ronald examining one of the records and landed silently next to him.

"I told you to leave me alone. Go back to Alan,"

"As much as you would like to think there's something between Alan and myself, there isn't. We're friends and that's all we're gonna be. Just...friends..." Ronald looked up at him as the older blond forced a smile. He shook his head and sent the record away, stamping it complete and walking away. "Ronald, somewhere in your heart you had to know...but if you want to try, I'd suggest taking a chance now while he and Grell aren't together. Just think about it alright?" They younger blond stopped and looked back at him, pushing up his glasses silently.

* * *

><p>"<em>Oh, Eric~~! Darling, I've missed you so!" Grell threw his arms around the brunette and squealed girlishly. "You'll never believe what's happened~ it's the most wonderful news!" Eric merely let the redhead cling to him as he twirled and giggled. He already knew what it was, another break-up most likely and judging by the burning glare they were catching from William, it was Grell that dumped him this time instead. <em>

"_You guys are 'taking a break' again? Jesus, will you two make up your minds already?" He sighed and shoved Grell off of him finally. Every time Grell and Will broke up, that insipid redhead would run right to him and try to spend some time in his bed. That was hardly what Eric wanted, he preferred his reputation as being a rather skilled with persuasion. At least when it came to the boys in the Glasses Department, they were rather easy to sway, especially one of the newbies. _

"_We're not taking a break, Eric. We broke up. And it was for real this time!" He pouted and put his hands on his hips, swaying a bit. Eric was crueler than William sometimes, rejecting him whenever they broke up or took a break. "Come on, Eric...I know you've been pining for me for the longest time! Now's your chance to-"_

"_No, Sutcliff. Go ask someone else. If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times: I'm not interested! Now bugger off and leave me alone," He shook his head and shoved Grell out of his office, far from being in the mood to listen to him. He'd just have to find someone else to seduce. _

"_U-Uh, Mr. Slingby? Sorry I'm late...I didn't mean to-"_

"_Whatever, just get your paperwork and get out of my face. You've already wasted my time," He looked over and glared at Alan, raising an eyebrow and running a hand through his hair. He stayed silent as Alan came in and gathered up his reports and collection list, noticing there was something...off about him that morning. He looked like he hadn't slept, or hadn't done very well if he'd managed. His hair and suit were a mess and he looked like he'd been crying, confirming that by the quiet sniff he heard. "You know what,why don't you stay in here today? You don't want to be out in the drafty bullpen anyway, do you?" Alan looked up and swallowed heavily, convinced that Eric was going to attack him with that saw the second he sat down and instead managed to retreat into a dark corner. _

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><p>"Mr. Sutcliff? Are you sure you're alright? I mean, if you're not doing well maybe you could go home. I can handle this on my own..." Grell sniffed quietly and glanced up at Alan. What was up with him? He seemed nervous about something, just what was impossible to place though. It was like that with Eric too. "I'm really sorry about what happened with Mr. Spears, I'm sure you two really love each other deep down..."<p>

"Don't be ridiculous, Alan. He meant it this time! He'd rather worry about his precious overtime than our relationship! He's cold and cruel and a total rat bastard, I hope he falls into a fiery pit of despair!" Alan was speechless and ran a hand through his hair, glancing back to the ground. He leaned against his scythe for support and blushed when he saw Eric land in his field of vision. The blond looked rather annoyed and lost, like he'd been trying to follow someone. Perhaps he'd been chasing after Ronald? He swallowed and didn't realise his scythe slipping and giving out as he fell onto the roof.

"OW!" Eric looked up and saw Grell sitting on the rooftop, raising an eyebrow. The redhead pointed to the other end of the roof with Alan attempting to get up, brushing the snow off of his coat. "Oh, h-hey Eric..." The brunette smiled a bit and waved once he was upright again, puzzling the blond when he started blushing. Instead of asking Eric simply gave him a smirk and cocked his head to the side.

"You miss me yet, Alan? I'll be sure to make it up to you later," he winked before running off again after Ronald. Alan just stood there silently, still blushing and not looking at Grell, though he was certain the redhead was going to be tormenting him the rest of the day. Starting now.

"Ooooohhhhh, Alliieeee~! What have you two lovebirds been doing? What's it like? Is he gentle? Does he like to get creative? I bet he's wonderful with those hands of his! And he's probably got some incredible uses for that smart m-"

"Grell! Stop it, please!Nothing like that is going on with me and Eric! We're just friends and that's wrong anyway! How could you even think such perverted things about your coworkers? I mean-"

"My god, you're still pushing that whole 'two men together' is wrong thing? Alan, come on. You should know by now that it's beyond common for the guys to hook up! So why don't you ask Eric to take care of your virginity problem so we don't have to listen to your preaching!" Alan swallowed hard and looked back at the ground, keeping an eye out for their next collection. Maybe Grell had a point, and well...lately his fantasies had been mainly centered around Eric. He'd been asking himself similar questions to what Grell had, was Eric a gentle lover? Maybe his hands were good with other things besides cooking...whoa wait a minute! He shook his head and held his scythe tight enough to turn his knuckles white inside the gloves. He knew for certain he was blushing heavily and his face was very warm and not because of overheating.

"Grell...can you keep a secret?"


	7. Flirting

**A/N: **Maybe I shouldn't be allowed to write when I'm in the mood for lemons. I apologise in advance! As we college students know and either love or loathe, finals are coming up! Are you studying? Hell no! YOu're on here showing loe to Eric and Alan! But it's ok, I am too! Anyways, Your reviews are sweet and I appreciate y'all reading and showing love to these two pretty reapers! ^J^

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><p>"Nnngh, Eric..."<p>

"Shhhh, just relax..."

"But it feels so good! I don't...want to fall...asleep in the...middle-oh my! God Eric, those hands!"

"Heh, again?"

"God yes, harder please?"

"Anything for you,"

"Oh dear, right there! Just like that!"

"Mmmmmm, convince me..." Eric sat straight and grabbed a vial of oil, a few more drops going onto Alan's back before he returned to massaging his back. He slid his hands up the brunette's back slowly and stopped at his neck, loosening up the first few vertabrae before leaning down by his ear. "How do you manage to get so tense, my dear? It's almost a sin..." Alan perked up slightly and leaned up a bit, looking right at the blond.

"I don't know...most of it is because of Grell, always asking if there's something going on between us...You know he had the audacity to ask me how you were in the bedroom? I mean, that's the last thing I want to know. We're best friends, and th-"

"That's wrong, I know. But Alan, if I remember correctly, I walked in on you having a rather intense fantasy regarding me about a month ago...remember?" Alan went wide eyed and blushed heavily, looking back at the ground. He'd really tried to avoid thinking about that, unfortunately with no luck. That seemed to be all he thought about lately was the look on Eric's face when he had walked in on him. There was something there he couldn't place, but whatever thoughts he'd been having, pleasurable or not, were always trumped by the one thing that he'd been convincing himself of since he was reborn. "Honestly, Alan why do you keep pushing that, anyway? I mean, no one believes that except for Mr. Anderson and perhaps the head of the Dispatch in Kent,"

"Yeah but-"

"Drop it, Alan. Nobody gives a damn about it being right or wrong, alright?" He narrowed his eyes and stood up quickly, making his way to the kitchen. He ran a hand through his hair and looked around for what he needed to make dinner. He was far from being in the mood to listen to Alan's preaching about his insane morals. Of course there had to be a reason, maybe something from before he died? "Oi, hungry for anything specific?" Alan slid his shirt back on and looked in at the kitchen doorway, crossing his arms. He could only pick one thing? Eric's cooking was impossible to to narrow down to just one thing. Though there was that one dish he'd made not too long ago...oh, what was it called?

"How about that one you made a few days ago? You know, it was salmon of some sort, with nutmeg?" Eric stared at him like he was crazy for a moment then remembered what he was talking about.

"Oh, I remember now! I didn't think you'd liked that one. Anything else you prefer?" Alan looked up from buttoning his shirt and blinked. "Surprise me," He cleared his throat and slipped into the kitchen in front of the stove and waited for Eric to turn around. Thank god Eric was a good cook, considering that Alan was able to even burn water. His only complaint was how small the kitchen was sometimes, far too easy to get stuck with two people in there, then again that was the plan of his little impulse after all. Eric turned to set everything on the counter and stopped when he realised he'd ended up pressed right against the brunette. "Sneaky little bugger, aren't you?" He smirked and wrapped his arms around his smaller partner, pressing their foreheads together.

"Well...let's just say the little voice in my head said 'What the hell. It can't hurt to try...'" He bit his lip and squeaked when Eric picked him up, setting him on the counter. "Eric?"

"I quite like this little impulse of yours, Alan. But you'll have to wait...Let me start dinner and then we'll see about taking care of your little...issue," He winked and unbuttoned Alan's shirt quickly, ruffling his hair. "And leave your shirt like that, it suits you a lot better."

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><p>"Uh, Boss? Do you think I could talk to you for a moment?" Ronald shook his hair out of his eyes as he waited for an answer, looking around the silent office once more. He'd just come back from a party the girls had thrown in General Affairs and had forgotten about his things. As far as he knew, William was still there due to overtime. He bit his lip and knocked on the door again, sighing when there was no answer.<p>

"Why bother with someone like that? He's far too stuffy for you. No way he could give you what you want..." Ronald jumped and looked around for the source of the voice, clutching his chest. To say he'd been caught off guard would be an understatement. "Now, now, Knoxie...why would you want to waste your time on some stuffy old man when you could have someone willing to give you loads more pleasure?" Ronald shivered ad he felt a pair of arms around him, still looking around slightly to stare right into a pair of glowing red eyes.

"But..."

"Shh, I could show you things you've not thought about in your dizziest daydreams...all you have to do is relax," Ronald tilted his head back slightly as the mysterious figure nipped along his neck and ear. "Forget about William, I can show you the love you want ten times better than he can..." Ronald turned to face the demon and blushed, looking slightly dazed.

"But..."

"No buts. Is it a yes?" Ronald looked away for a moment then back to Sebastian, about to answer when the door to Williams office opened. The demon vanished in an instant leaving Ronald to stand there, looking feverish and confused.

"Knox? Are you alright? My god man, you look ill. Go right home and don't come back until you're feeling better! Understood?" The blond stayed there silently and swayed a bit more, trying to clear his head.

"Um, boss...? I don't...feel...too..." he shook his head one last time before fainting, hitting his head on a random planter before he hit the ground hard. William flinched and picked him up quickly, pulling him inside and laying him on the sofa.

"God that's a nasty wound. What the hell is wrong with you...?" He sighed as he grabbed a sewing kit and a few bandages. Perhaps he should have kept a few small bottles of whiskey around still.

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><p>"<em>I'm going to ask you again, kid. What the hell gave you the balls to change my scythe on me?" Eric stared at the younger brunette currently busy with his nose in a book. Alan had been ignoring him lately whenever they were out doing their collections, either cleaning his scythe or reading when they took a break or were waiting on their next collection. "Hey! Intern, I'm talking to you!" Nothing. Eric sighed and stuck his saw out, knocking the book out of Alan's hands and pointing it right at him, jagged edge a few inches from his face. "Now answer me, Humphries..."<em>

"_It was an accident. I'd meant to throw it out but they took the papers before I could. Now get that thing out of my face, it's filthy." He pushed the saw away and adjusted his glasses, scowling a bit at Eric's appearance. Again his shirt was half unbuttoned and his tie was loose. Why did he even bother attempting to get dressed if he was only going to do a halfway job? "At least you're not hungover...couldn't you at least make an effort to look more professional? I mean why do you even—What in the world are you doing?" He went wide eyed as Eric slid off his tie and unbuttoned his shirt, shrugging it off. He winked and stretched while Alan stood there dumbstruck. "What is wrong with you? Mr. Slingby, you need to get dressed right this instant! What if Mr. Spears shows up? We'll both be fired and I'm already homeless as it is!" _

"_I gave you a key and some money for a cute little flat, didn't I? The hell did you do with it? Certainly didn't spend it on parties. You've got such a bloody stick up your ass that you make William look laid-back," He tilted hit head back and ruffled his hair some, smirking at the look on Alan's face. He was staring at the man with his mouth hanging open and a blush bright enough to put a tomato to shame. "Though, to the current issue at hand...if your so concerned with my appearance then perhaps you fix it to your standards, huh?" He winked and picked up the shirt and tie, slinking over to Alan and pinning him to the wall._

"_I...um...please...I don't..."_

"_You don't what? Know how to have fun? Listen to your impulses sometimes..." He leaned in close to Alan and pressed his forehead against the others, smirking as his blush deepened. Alan swallowed hard and freed one of his hands, grabbing the bits of clothing and pulling the shirt onto the taller man with a bit of force. "Easy now...My tailor doesn't like it when my clothes get hurt..." Alan stopped trying to button his shirt up and stared right into Eric's eyes._

"_Y-you mean...? Y-you actually...with other m-men? But that's wrong! It's sick and perverted and-!" He was cut off by Eric pulling him close for a rough kiss, shoving the older man away and cringing. "Ugh! What is wrong with you? That's disgusting! You need to get your head checked or something!"_

"_Tch, you're a bit too squirrelly for me anyway, don't worry," He finished dressing himself again and shook his head. "Look, I tell you what. Come over to my place tonight after work, I'll fix you some dinner and give somewhere more comfortable to sleep than my office. No offence, I'm just sick of telling that redhead that you fell asleep working overtime," He pulled his blazer on and gave Alan one last look before grabbing his saw and dashing off along the rooftops. _

"_D-dinner?" Alan was still standing there dumbstruck and shook his head quickly. "I uh...sure?" He cleared his throat before running off after him._


	8. Shi no Toge

**A/N: **These poor bishies. They just get so much abuse, ne? Honestly though I wish Yana-san had more pictures of Eric with his natural hair colour. The dark brown suits him way better than the blond, I think. I wonder what made him dye his hair in the first place anyways. But those two are so charming together, even if they do hate each other, ya know?

* * *

><p>Ronald cringed slightly as he stirred and grabbed his head. What in the world happened? Last thing he remembered was walking to William's office, so how did he end up in the infirmary? He sat up slowly and looked around, only then realising that he didn't have his glasses. As much as he would like to be able to see at the moment, it probably wouldn't be a very good idea for him while his head was burning. He looked around again, squinting in attempt to find something that looked relatively human, luckily seeing a shape that looked vaguely like William.<p>

"B-boss?" he reached over to nudge him, smiling when the shape stirred and looked up, staring at him he was sure. "Boss, what happened?"

"You tell me. I opened the door and you simply collapsed, you've been tossing and turning since then. Are you alright? I'll not have my subordinates faking sick to get out of their work," Now for sure William was glaring. He looked down and sighed, rubbing his temples. William stood silently and slid the blonds glasses onto his face, sitting on the edge of the hospital bed and staring right at him. "Listen to me, Ronald and listen good. I will not tolerate you faking your way out of work, even more so if you are dealing with demons. You must remember that they can influence a person with just their voice. You will report to my office tonight regardless of how you feel, am I clear?"

"B-but boss, I-"

"No buts, Knox. Any more trouble and I won't hesitate to fire you, understand?" The blond simply nodded and ran a hand through his hair. Maybe William knew about whatever happened? Well whatever it was, it had made him very angry by the sound of it. He bit his lip and pulled his knees to his chest.

"My my my, have you upset your pretty boss?" Ronald looked up and searched around for Sebastian, more than certain it was him this time. He swallowed hard and shivered when the lights suddenly went out. "Such a shame, it seems your little stunt earlier made him angry..."

"Leave me alone, you're a monster..."

"You lips say 'Monster' but you your eyes say 'Lover'. I told you, Knoxie...your precious William can't give you the attention you want like I can..." Ronald sniffed and sat back a little, bad idea. Once he had, Sebastian appeared properly and pinned the shinigami to his bed, smirking triumphantly. "Just think, Ronald...if you let me, all of your fantasies and more can become realities," Ronald clenched his eyes shut as the demon slipped his glasses off, forcing Ronald to look right at him as his eyes glowed red again. A knock on the door had him gone in an instant, leaving Ronald laying there dazed and extremely confused.

"Glasses..."

* * *

><p>"<em>Dinner? That's pretty impressive. Now seriously, before Mr. Anderson whines about me not working, give me your glasses. They need adjusting. So how was it?" Thomas looked up as Alan handed over his glasses. Honestly he didn't like the ones he'd picked. Plain black metal frames with rectangle lenses, though he'd not had a choice in the matter. Honour students never did, anything other than those were considered unbecoming.<em>

"_It was...surprising. He's actually an amazing cook, Tom. Like he made this one thing, it wasn't quite soup but it had fish and ruits and pineapple and it was served in a wine glass and...it was really mazing, like you don't even know...!" Thomas shook his head and set down the pair he'd been working on. Alan furrowed his eyebrows as he picked up the plain black frames and snapped them in half. "THOMAS! What the hell did you do that for?"_

"_Those glasses don't suit you. They're worse than the ones at the academy, now come with me," Alan stood up quickly and caught up to him, scowling at the redhead. "So tell me more about what happened. Was it just dinner and then he threw you out? Or...?"_

"_Don't start. And it wasn't anything special, we just...we had dinner and then went over some paperwork and our lists for tomorrow and...nothing. He let me borrow some pajamas and said to take his bed for the night. End of story," He looked over as Thomas held up a pair of plastic white frames with stars on the sides. "Gaudy. Mr. Sutcliff Is bad enough with his and Mr. Slingby's look like shades,"_

"_That's the point. I asked Mr. Anderson about that and he said Mr. Slingby's eyes were really sensitive to light, hence why he has tinted lenses...how about these?" white metal around the lenses and plastic white sidebars but they weren't overly decorative._

"_I don't want white. I want something more subtle. And white doesn't even look good on me! Is't there something that is less obvious and...feminine?" Thomas chuckled and started walking again, picking up a pair of blue metal frames. Really they looked just like the academy glasses aside from being blue and not silver. "Still too obvious. Ooh, how about these?" He squinted and grabbed a pair of rimless glasses, trying them on. Thomas cocked his head to the side and shrugged. _

"_But they're so...well, actually, they don't look half bad. Now come on, let's get them fixed up at least. And I'll fix up your other pair you've got a spare at least, alright?" He nodded and led Alan back to his table. "So, do you think Mr. Slingby will continue to be kind to ya?"_

"_I doubt it. Last night after dinner, he laid into me about my collection abilities, or lack there of. I mean, there honestly is no pleasing him! I don't know what to do!"_

"_Only one thing you can do. Prove him wrong. Go out there and show him that you can collect souls as well as he can! No show him that you can do it better! He can't say anything if you can prove yourself, now can he?" Alan ran a hand through his hair and looked down at his broken glasses, nodding a bit._

"_You know what, you're right. I'm not a student anymore. I'm a Dispatch Officer! And I'm gonna show that low-life rat who's boss!" He stood and made to leave but Thomas grabbed his wrist._

"_And you're going to do this blind? Sit down and give me an hour. Until then you're not going anywhere. Understood?" _

"_Oh, right..." He nodded and sat down again, straightening his coat and watching as Thomas went to work on his new glasses. _

* * *

><p><em>Alan sighed and checked his list once more. Eric had the day off so he could at least get a little bit of peace in that regard. He stood up from the cafe and left quickly, following after one of the people on his list. It wasn't until he caught sight of the man that he realised it was a young kid. He couldn't let that bother him though, he was going to show Eric that he was an exemplary shinigami worthy of the London Dispatch. He took a deep breath and watched the kid for a bit longer, worrying when he started coughing heavily.<em>

"_You poor kid...I really wish I could help you, I feel your pain. It's no fun to die suffering, is it?" He swallowed hard and stepped up close behind him, giving him a pathetic look before he slashed him with his scythe. "I'm so sorry..." he looked away and wiped the tears from his eyes, not seeing the record come right at him full force. _

"_H-help..." the kid tried to sit up and instead collapsed to the ground, screaming and crying. Alan looked back at him for a moment, dropping his scythe._

"_I really am very so—AAHH!" He gasped as the record hit him square in the chest, going right through him. The rest of it grabbed him and began to pierce every part of his body possible. "I'm so...sorry..." He screamed at the top of his lungs as a few more reels pierced his heart, making him cry out again and again. He looked back at the boy and his breath started to hitch, catching sight of someone slicing the records away from him before everything went black._

_Eric watched quietly as the doctors attempted to hold Alan down with no luck. He'd started screaming and thrashing once he came to, managing to snap the older brunette's arm in the middle of it. Though he'd not worried about it too much and was more concerned with getting Alan to relax. He'd managed to break his glasses in the process and so had Thomas bolting in the second he heard the commotion._

"_What happened to him? What did you do, Slingby? I swear if you-"_

"_Drop it, kid. I found him being thrown about by a record. All I did was save his ass, he should have known better than to attempt collecting souls on his own," Alan screamed again and attempted to tear the remains of his coat off, his whole body on fire. He opened his eyes enough to look at Eric and Thomas for a moment. _

"_You idiot, I said hold him! I can't inject the sedative if you don't!"_

"_I'm sorry sir! He won't stay still! He keeps thrashing! And he's on fire! We should cool him down first, no?"_

"_Tch, nurses. Just hold his arm!" The nurse tensed up but held Alan's arm down, managing for it to pull out of the socket and snap his collarbone from the angle he twisted at. The doctor took his chance and stabbed his wrist with the needle before he could twist away again. Almost instantly he stopped tossing and turning and looked up at the ceiling, panting heavily. The nurses remained quiet as the doctor grabbed a second needle and gave him another injection, this time knocking him out for at least 35 hours. A nurse glanced at Eric and Thomas afterwards and instantly stared at the brunette's arm._

"_C-come with me, Mr. S-Slingby. Let's take a look at t-that arm,"_

"_Oi! You said he was burning up. Aren't you going to cool him down?" the nurse dragged him away as Thomas went over to sit by him, biting his lip. _

* * *

><p>"<em>...Mr. Slingby...?"<em>

"_Go back to sleep, kid. You need to rest," Eric offered to keep an eye on him when Thomas went home, just in case he woke up. "What were you thinking? You know that you're not good with collecting souls and yet you went out to do it on your own anyway?" Alan slipped his glasses on and sat up slowly, cringing at the stabbing in his arm. Eric looked tired, and his arm was in a sling by the looks of it. "You should have asked Grell or Will to go with you. So why did you do something so stupid?"_

"_I just...I'm tired of you always yelling at me and complaining about how i'm not doing good enough. That hurts to hear that, you know? I'm a damn good reaper and I don't take kindly to being told otherwise."_

"_So what...you wanted to impress me? Getting yourself killed ain't exactly impressive kid. You want to prove me wrong then do it right. If I hadn't shown up, you'd be in the ground right now. Got it?" Eric glared at him silently before looking back out the window._

"_I'm really sorry, M-"_

"_Eric."_

"_I'm sorry?"_

"_Call me Eric. Mr. Slingby is too formal. By the way, your friend dropped these off before he left again," he pulled a glasses case from the sling and tossed them to the younger brunette. "Said he fixed them up quick and you better make them last," Alan looked down at the case and sighed, running a hand through his hair._


	9. Intimate

**A/N: **So...sorry about the delay and all. this one took some time to get out, especially with it being finals week. Oh my god, the stress is insane, isn't it? And again you should be studying! And so should I but stress leads to lemons! I do see a little one shot of stress relief though. maybe with Wiru and Ronnie. they need some love too! Anyone up for a potential Christmas special with Will and Ronnie?

* * *

><p>"Come on Alan, let's get out of here! We've got the weekend off so let's celebrate!" Eric grinned and pulled Alan into a headlock, ruffling his hair. He couldn't wait to get away from William and Grell's awkwardness, Ronald's weird behaviours and the other faceless buggers they worked with. Alan managed to pull out of the headlock and straightened out his hair and attempted to straighten out his suit as well. "Why don't we stop off and change first though, huh? I want to get out of this suit,"<p>

"Y-you mean, at my place? Like together?" Eric stared at him for a moment and nodded slowly. He remembered leaving some of his clothes at Alan's place so hopefully he wouldn't reject.. "I um, sorry. My place is a mess though, are you sure you won't mind?"

"Of course I don't mind. Al, you've seen my place at it's worst, you really think it'll bother me? So, whaddaya say? Dinner then drinks and then we'll go from there?" Alan bit his lip and swallowed hard, he'd heard Eric use that line multiple times in the Glasses Department, even directed to Thomas more than once. Now he saw why Eric always had so many dates on the weekend, that smirk and his tone...they were insane. He shook his head and smiled a bit, running a hand through his hair.

"Is this in exchange for spending Christmas with me?"

"Well, Christmas isn't for another week...but yes. Now let's get out of here," Alan smiled and linked arms with his partner as they walked, discussing where they could go for drinks. The human world was rather limited most of the time, the shinigami realm on the other hand had an extremely varied assortment. Considering how well Eric knew him, it would most likely be the main hang out of the geeky little honour students. Not like he could help it, he got discount drinks for being in collections. There of course was the occasional kid trying to become a writer or something there. "I'd suggest we hurry though, I made reservations," Alan stared at him. Since when was this a date?

"You don't make reservations unless it's a fancy night out or something,"

"It doesn't have to be fancy. It could just be that I'd rather take you somewhere nice instead of just a random diner,"

* * *

><p>"Ronald...do you have any idea how hard it can be to break the influence of a demon? If you wait long enough it can be impossible to break," Ronald looked up from twiddling his thumbs, what in the world was Will talking about? Maybe it was his weird fits he'd had? They'd started to become more clear and...way intense. Every time that demon came near he literally became a pile of goo. Though he'd noticed William becoming just as adamant in his efforts. By now usually he'd be so deep in his paperwork that nothing else was important or he'd be back with Grell. "And I've concluded there's only one way to remedy that..."<p>

"Boss? I don't understand what you mean...I'm fine, honest!" He blinked when William stood up and walked around to him. Ronald stood as he advanced and backed up against the wall, gasping as William grabbed his arms and pinned him down. "B-boss? Are you-"

"Shut up, Knox. I'm going to prove to you that some filthy demon has nothing on a reaper like me..." Ronald opened his mouth again only for William press against him and kiss him hard. For a moment he was completely shocked but then he relaxed and kissed him back, closing his eyes. His brain had become foggy again in no time he shifted slightly, pulling his arms loose and wrapping them around his neck. William pulled away slightly and smirked, sliding a hand into Ronald's hair, "Believe me yet, Knox? Or do I still need to convince you?"

"I uh...could I get another example...?" He chuckled slightly as William pulled his hair a bit and pulled him in for another kiss, this time unbuttoning the blond's shirt slightly and sliding the cold leather from his gloves along his bare chest, making him shiver. When he pulled away once more both of their glasses had started to fog up, which was rather clever since Will's eyes had glazed over.

"How's that Knox?"

* * *

><p>"Buuuuuut Eriiiiiic, I dun wanna go home yet!" Eric looked over at the brunette and giggled, watching him sway slightly and rub his eyes. It really wasn't often that Alan went out for drinks. Considering that he'd had straght beer made it even more strange. This place though had some of the best beer in London, and they were wanting to partake. Surprisingly Alan was more than excited to try it and after one and a half pints, he was instead sitting up right next to Eric, clinging to his arm and nuzzling his neck gently. "Let's go tooooooooo...um...what was I sayin'?"<p>

"You said you didn't want to go home but you wanted to go somewhere..." He looked down at Alan and smiled a bit, he wasn't anywhere near as drunk as Alan but he was still rather tipsy, and slightly more coherent. He glanced back and picked up his third pint for the evening, looking around and back to Alan when he felt his tie being fiddled with. "What are you doing, Alan?"

"Your tie's so sparkly~! It's really prettyyyy, and...and...I wanna go back to your place! Let's go back to yours and bake somethin'~. Like cheesecake! Your pumpkin cheesecake is the bestest!" Eric grinned and rested his head on top of Alan's. Maybe that wasn't such a bad idea...Alan was five seconds away from being an incoherent mess, he could only imagine the hangover he'd have in the morning.

"You really wanna get out of here, Al? Go make cheesecake or somethin' like that?" Alan perked up and nodded eagerly, still clinging to Eric's arm and fiddling with his tie still. "Come on, darling let's get you home to rest alright? You need to let go of my arm..." Alan pouted but let go anyway, slowly getting to his feet and hanging onto the table while he waited for Eric. The blond draped an arm over his shoulders and smiled. "Come on, let's go get you comfy," Alan grinned and nodded, leaning against Eric again.

"Eeeerrriiiicccc...I think I might have a problem~..."

"What? Are you having an attack? Just relax! We'll take you home and let you rest!"

"Kiiiind oooof~ I'll tell you a secret..."Alan giggled and pulled him down slightly, still swaying a little. He slid his fingers through Eric's hair and nipped his earlobe, blowing into his ear gently and making the blond shudder.

"A-Alan...you n-need rest...come on..." Alan whimpered slightly but stayed still, pulling on Eric's hair slightly as he blew into his ear again.

"Don't tell Eric...but I'm crazy for him~" He grinned like an idiot and pulled the blonds hair harder, making him groan and hold onto him . "You don't even know Mister~, he's got this...swagger about him and it's like...ooooohhhhh, and he's so warm and muscular...Sometimes I wish he'd just-"

"Alan, please. You're making me crazy...now we're getting the hell home, right now!" He smirked and picked Alan up to carry him the rest of the way to his flat. The brunette squeaked and started giggling, clinging to his partner and nuzzling his neck. Eric looked around quietly as he made his way to his flat. It was closer than Alan's anyway and his bed was much larger. He almost dropped his small partner when he felt a pair of lips on his neck. "A-Alan...? What are y-you doing?"

"I want you, Eric~ right now. I don't think I can hide that anymore...your walk and that voice and the way your hair gets all messed up when you do your paperwork...it's maddening and I can't take it..." Eric shivered and swallowed hard, trying his hardest to remain composed while Alan was attacking his neck, almost dropping him again when he nipped just above his collarbone. "Didn't know it was such a long walk..."

"It's not. We're going back to mine, it's closer th—dear God, Alan! You're gonna kill me...!" he shook his head slightly and stopped when he reached the building. "Come on, you need to do a bit of walking now, dear. Just up the steps for me?" He ran his fingers through Alan's hair and opened the door for him, fiddling around for his keys while Alan held onto the wall on his way in, grabbing Eric's hand once he'd made it and swaying a little, falling onto the steps with a giggle as he pulled the blond with him, both hitting the steps and laughing.

"Whoops~! Guess I'm just a little clumsy, hmm?" They both laughed as Alan pulled Eric closer, rubbing their noses together for a moment. Eric pulled away and adjusted his glasses, looking down at the brunette before leaning down again to kiss him softly without even thinking about it. He'd expected Alan to push him away in an instant, which he probably would have if he were sober, but alcohol is quite amazing, isn't it? He'd already heard somewhere in his rambling that Alan really did have feelings for him to some degree, lucky for him since Alan wrapped his arms around his neck and pushed up slightly to deepen the kiss. Eric slid his arms around Alan's waist and pulled him close, purring softly as he slid his tongue along the smaller man's bottom lip, half expecting to be pushed away at any moment. Instead of that, he felt something nudge his feet, over and over until he pulled away and growled at the person, causing Alan to whine.

"What?" Eric looked over his shoulder and glared flaming daggers at whoever had the audacity to interrupt them.

"While I appreciate the knowledge that your libido is very obviously functioning, I would prefer your sexual encounters be somewhere other than my stairwell. If you please?" The blond stared at the superintendent for a moment then nodded, standing and pulling Alan to his feet. "If you could keep such escapades behind the door of your flat, that would be preferable,"

"O-of course...sorry," He ran a hand through his hair and pulled Alan up the stairs with him. "Hate that woman...Now where were we?" Alan giggled softly and pulled Eric in for another kiss once they'd hit one of the floors, leaning against the wall. He slid his hands up the blonds chest and under his coat and blazer, pushing them both off of his shoulders. He moaned softly into the kiss and pushed his tongue into Alan's mouth, trying like hell to keep his hands at Alan's waist with no luck. Maybe it would be a good idea for them to keep going onto his flat, if it weren't for another damned flight of stairs. He was cursing mentally but thought moving about would be a good idea, lest they be caught by the super again, of course he wasn't willing to pull away when he did but he quickly made up for that by grabbing his coat and pulling Alan up the stairs as he went for the brunette's neck mercilessly, kissing and nipping with a passion.

"E-Eric...ow!" He winced as the blond pinned him to a door none too gently, pulling open the buttons on his vest and shirt to nip a path down his chest. Alan gasped softly and threaded his fingers into Eric's hair, tilting his head back as he shivered, trying not to whimper with Eric's cold fingers on his skin. "Y-your hands are f-freezing..."

"Oi! What's going on out—Alan?" Thomas forced his door open and sent the two away, staring at them. "What the hell are you two doing?"

"None of your business, kid. Bugger off!"

"I think it is my business, you two were five seconds away from having my best friend against my door! So tactless..." Eric threw him a rather rude gesture and pulled Alan to the end of the hall, practically swearing when it wouldn't unlock properly. Finally he got door open and dragged the brunette inside, throwing his coat to the side and practically tearing at Alan's.

"W-wait a minute..." Eric glared at him and pulled his glasses off, setting them by his keys. He'd better not be backing out now. Oh if that little bugger started preaching...well, then again at this point he had a plethora of better uses for Alan's mouth to say the least. He was about to open his mouth again but Eric pinned him to the door and began nipping and sucking at his earlobe, sliding one of his hands down his body and making him squirm. "Nnngh, you're so cruel Mr. Slingby..." Eric stopped and stared at him silently, a smirk crossing his face as Alan finally realised what that weird look in Eric's eyes was.

"Mr. Slingby, eh...? You haven't called me that in years," he grabbed Alan's hair and yanked his head back slowly, attacking his neck with a passion. Alan hadn't been expecting it entirely even though a rather mass amount of his fantasies seemed to involve using that title. "Now what brings about such a usage? Hmmm?" He raised an eyebrow and sucked on a very sensitive area of his neck, making Alan moan like a cheap whore. The blond growled softly and ripped Alan's shirt open, sending buttons flying everywhere. "Glasses. Off, Humphries," Alan jut stared at him in silence, more than willing after Eric began to rub one of his nipples gently, taking the other one into his mouth.

"Aaaahhh, Eric...please...no more. Bedroom, now! I'm begging you! I really can't take it...!" He arched his back and moaned loudly, pulling Eric's hair as the blond slowly dragged his teeth along his nipple. His philosophy about being with another was more or less completely melted away and with Eric pulling off his glasses and massaging his side...well perhaps maybe being with another man wasn't so bad. As long as it was his charming blond mentor of course. He shook his head slightly and looked back at Eric, making quick work of his shirt and tossing it onto the sofa. He swallowed when he got a proper look at Eric's torso, he wasn't overly muscular by the look of it, though he was rather strong regardless of that. There were a few scars here and there as well, some nastier than others, a tattoo on his arm he was guessing. It didn't look terribly fancy, just a dragon curled into a ball by the look of it, "Wow..."

"Enjoying the show, Humphries?" Alan merely cocked his head to the side as Eric pulled him close again. Alan purred softly and arched his back as the blond gently ran his nails down his chest.

"Ooooooohhhhhh...Eric please...I need you..."

"Oh? And how bad do you need it? Why don't you tell me?"Alan stared at him and slid his fingers through his hair, pressing their foreheads together and licking his lips. So he wanted to know, he was really curious about those insane fantasies he's been having for so long? Well maybe not all of them but perhaps at least one. He perked his head up slightly as Eric nudged him, motioning upwards. "Take a look..." there was...why was there mistletoe hanging from Eric's door? "You know what that means, right Al?" The brunette shook his head and Eric smirked, pulling Alan's shirt off and throwing it to the side before crashing their lips together again. Alan moaned into the kiss and dug his nails into the blonds hips, barely registering their movements.

Alan didn't really register the change in orientation until both he and Eric fell back against the bed. It wasn't until then that he realised Eric had a small bit of hair on his chest as well. How could he not notice though? Not that it bothered him of course especially with the blonds hands sliding down his back. He pulled away slightly and returned to Eric's neck, nipping and sucking gently as the older shinigami slid his hands into Alan's back pockets and squeezed, Alan bit down hard and groaned softly at the feeling, hardly realising that he ground his hips down until Eric tilted his head back.

"Jesus...You're going to make me insane..." He groaned and pulled his hands from the brunette's pockets, lacing their fingers together as they rolled over and rocked his hips against Alan's, almost certainly pinning him to the bed and reducing him to a whimpering puddle of mush. This was nothing new for Eric, really. Although he'd not had a partner so receptive, that might be because of the alcohol though, but it was such a relief to have Alan writhing and moaning under him in the flesh finally, tipsy or otherwise. He swallowed hard and without hesitating and made short work of Alan's trousers, tossing them of into some corner of the room. Alan shivered at the air some and arched into Eric's touch while he slid his hand down, stopping between them and rubbing his length through his boxers slowly.

"Nnnngh, Eric you tease~ can't you just-" he was cut off by a loud moan as Eric squeezed him and blew into his ear.

"Can't I just what?" He smirked and licked his ear slowly, squeezing again and drawing out a lewd moan from the brunette.

"Y-you...Please...I want you...i-inside me..." Eric chuckled and sat back for a moment, pulling off his trousers and underwear as quickly as he could and throwing them to the side. Alan squinted a little and bit his lip when the blond slid down his own boxers, being terribly slow about it.

"Try that again...and tell me what you really want this time..."Alan shuddered, tilting his head back. Eric's voice was low and husky, almost covering him like liquid velvet. Was he asking him to swear?

"I-I...mmmh..." He trailed off when he felt Eric's heated skin against his, kissing and biting his neck while he waited for answer. "Please...Eric...I need you..." he pulled back and raised an eyebrow. "What the hell are you staring at? I want you to fuck me, Eric! Please, I want you to make me yours and make damn sure everyone else knows it! Please? I'm begging you!"

Eric pulled back and stared at him for a moment, amazed at the fact that Alan actually swore. Quiet, calm, soft spoken, Alan Humphries actually...cursed? The brunette swallowed and bit his lip, more than certain that Eric would force him out. Instead, he crawled down Alan's body and slid his tongue along his length, making him grab the sheets in his fists and buck his hips. Eric closed his eyes and pointed to the side table, hoping Alan would see and grab the small vial of oil. Until then, he took the brunette into his mouth and moaned softly around him. He pulled away and got up to feel around for it, swearing when he didn't see it.

"Back in a moment my dear..." He kissed the top of Alan's head and slipped out of the room, returning a few moments later with the vial. "Got it..." purring as he climbed onto the bed again, stopping when he heard Alan's breathing deep and steady unlike shallow and ragged when he left. He stirred a bit and Eric ran a hand through his hair, getting up again and slipping back out of the room again. "Kid always could fall asleep fast..."


	10. Yandere

**A/N: **Broke chapter ten! Woohoo! I've got a litle Will/Ron Christmas/holiday special in the works! Hope your finals all went well, now to relax for two/three weeks, ne? Anyways, I bring you chapter ten! With some psycho bitches, a jealous William and Eric and Alan being cutesy!

* * *

><p>"Oh Will~! Are still here, my Willie-kins?" Grell barged into the office and twirled, almost breaking a heel in the process. The sudden distraction caused William to snap his pen in half, getting ink all over the report he'd spent two hours re-writing.<p>

"I certainly hope you're hope about to drop dead, Sutcliff. And for the last time, it's WILLIAM. Not Will, clear?"

"Whatever. Why am I not surprised to see you here though? Everyone else has gone home! Even Ronnie-poo~! He looked so sick though! Was he having a turn?" The redhead slipped around to sit on Will's desk, shoving files and various other bits of paperwork onto the floor in a disorganised mess.

"I certainly hope you intend to pick that up, Sutcliff. And get off my desk, that is hardly it's intended purpose,"

"Never stopped you before, Willie-kins...remember? Now, to why I came in here! How much longer is this little hiatus of ours going to last?" He flipped his hair back over his shoulder and pouted, hoping to get at least some sort of reaction. There was nothing though, no smirk, raised eyebrow, not a single thing! "Well? Isn't this when you pin me to your desk and have your way with me? I know you want to~!" He pulled the ribbon loose and winked at the man, straightening up when his only reaction was simply pushing up his glasses.

"I haven't the foggiest idea what you're talking about Sutcliff and would prefer if you would get off of my desk. I don't know where you got the idea that we were simply 'on a hiatus' but I can assure you that it is pure balderdash. Any feelings that I have for you are of pure disdain, now get out." He stood and walked away from the pouting redhead, kneeling down to reorganise the files he'd completely mixed up. Fantastic, six hours of overtime gone right down the drain.

"Will...did I do something wrong? Has someone else stolen your heart? They better not! You know that I'm the only one who can have you! Who is it? I'll kill him! Nobody steals my Willie-kins and survives, dammit!" He threw his coat and ribbon over the desk and stood over him, stepping on Will's hands. "Well? Answer me, Will! They'll live to regret it! Once I'm through they'll wish they had stayed far far away from my-"

"Sutcliff! Drop it already, would you even have the audacity to attack a co-worker? One that you were fantasising about since he entered the academy? I'm surprised at you. And to think I would ever consider taking you back...must be a good thing I've started to focus on Ronald instead..."Grell stopped and stared at him. No way, not his little Ronnie-doll. That was almost treason! And to think that Grell had taken him under his wing and been like a sister to him.

"You mean—Ronnie...MY Ronnie? What the hell are you thinking, Will? You swore nothing was going on with him!" Grell pouted for a moment and narrowed his eyes when William stood up, slapping him hard across the face. "How could you? How long have you been seeing him behind my back? Damn you Will, answer me!"

"William. And I've not been seeing him 'behind your back' as you would so quickly believe. I didn't go to him either, he came to me. Now get out of my office," He pushed up his glasses and turned to sit at his desk again, stopping when he heard that infernal chainsaw fire up and clash with his desk. Great, a 123 year old desk ruined. "That's coming out of your pay, Sutcliff. Such a shame since it's alre-"

"SHUT UP! You think you can brush me off so easily, don't you? I gave you everything William, my heart, my soul, even my maidenhood and yet you always forced me act so very unladylike!"

"You are hardly a woman. I've asked you time and again to avoid referring to yourself as such,"

"Quiet! I was good to you, wasn't I? Took you back every time you've shown up at my door, crying like a pathetic child. Saved your ass back at the academy-" He squeaked and jumped out of the way to avoid getting hit with William's scythe.

"You swore you would never speak of that again. If you must be so psychotic then do it elsewhere, Sutcliff. My office is hardly the place for such nonsense," Anyone else would be a terrified puddle at that. The daggers coming from Will's eyes were looking to kill, and they were all aimed at a certain red haired reaper. "What are you standing there for? Out of my office, you!" He sneered at the man and aimed his scythe again, ready to strike but instead it was suddenly yanked from William's grasp.

"My my my, what do we have here? A lover's quarrel?" Both reapers were silent, staring at the demon in utter shock. Grell shook his head and tossed his hair over his shoulder, the hell was going on here? Was Will seeing HIS Sebby behind his back too? Fling or not, he ditched the demon the second Will showed up late one night, drunk, sobbing, and begging like a child. How very unlike him, though Grell was certain no one else had seen him like that.

"William...have you been seeing HIM behind my back too? You...You whore! How could you be so unfaithful! I knew that whole 'holier-than-thou' noise was a bunch of rubbish! What's next have you been sleeping around with the gl-"

"Give it a rest, Sutcliff. You really think my morals are so loose?" He snatched the spear away from Sebastian and wiped it off with his handkerchief, tossing it in the trash right away. "Must get this thing sterilised...last thing I need is some disease caused by your filth, demon. Now get out of my office before I force you out," Grell was still pouting and going on about something or other. "Sutcliff, you do realise that I walked in on YOU with the Undertaker. And it wasn't the first time either, You have no right to play the jilted lover card, understand?"

"Now if only the pretty little blonde of yours would come in here and see you, Spears. Even more so to catch you in a compromising position..."

"Demon, I swear if you ever come near him again, I'll..."

"You'll what? Give me overtime? Face it Spears, there isn't a damn thing you can do except sit there and watch me make that boy squirm. It's only a matter of time, and nothing you do is going to change that. So give up now and go back to your precious psychopath there and keep your mouth shut. Clear?"

"You think I'd take him back, Sebby? I refuse to be with someone who doesn't know how to properly treat a lady!" Grell stuck his nose in the air and crossed his arms, earning a hard whack in the head from William's scythe. Gripping his head in pain he crouched on the floor, whining. "Y-you struck me! You rat bastard, how could you? Don't you know it's rude to strike a lady?"

"Well, I'll leave you two to your quarrel. And remember, Spears...Knox is mine. And the next time you interfere will be your last," Sebastian's eyes flashed for a moment before he vanished, leaving Wiliam to deal with a sobbing and extremely unstable Grell.

"I knew you were cruel, Will...b-but I never knew you were this cruel...What makes Ronnie so special anyway, huh?" He sniffed and traced the pattern on his chainsaw with his finger, not again. The last thing he needed right now was to listen to Grell get jealous again, though he couldn't really help but tell the truth this time.

"He's not you, Sutcliff. Unlike you, he can actually control himself in certain situations. Now I want you and that monstrosity out of my office in five seconds or I'll send you back to the academy, got it?" He scowled and tossed his scythe to the other end of the room, coming round his desk and pulling Grell up by his collar. The redhead looked back at him and sniffed quietly, pouting in a last ditch attempt to make Will change his mind. "Give up, I'm done with your rubbish,"

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><p>"Ronald, lease don't shout! I've got a terrible headache..." Alan whined and put his head down on Eric's desk, for once thankful that Eric's office was always dimly lit. He ruffled his hair a little and groaned when Ronald leaned on him. "Please Ronald...leave me alone, let me rest..." he looked up a bit and shoved him away.<p>

"But Alan, I'm so confused! I don't know who else to turn to and well with you and Eric being...an item, I figured you could help! Grell won't talk to me and the boss has been acting funny too!"

"And if you don't pipe down, I'm going to kill you! I don't care what you do or who you do it with, alright? And whatever is going on with me and Eric is none of your business, now get out and leave me alone!" Ronald crept towards the door and stopped before turning the knob, looking back at Alan so quick he almost caught whiplash.

"So there is something going on with you two! I knew it!" Alan threw a stapler at him for shouting and ran out of the office, pulling off his glasses and whining when he saw them. The stapler had hit them harder than thought apparently, one of the lenses was shattered. "Great...I'm pretty sure this can't just be fixed with a bit of tape..."

"Then maybe you should be more careful, Mr. Knox," He looked up and saw William staring right at him, eyebrow raised and holding his scythe by a makeshift shoulder strap. Everyone knew it was possible for William to be slightly obsessive-compulsive, but germaphobic was hardly a descriptive word for him. At least in an extreme sense, Eric and Ronald knew that Will did have a mild aversion to certain things, mainly demons. "Mr. Knox? You look ill, have you been sleeping lately? Perhaps you should go and get some more rest. You should probably eat something as well..."

"No no Boss, I'm fine...honest. I'm just a bit..."

"Influenced by a demon. The only way to prevent you from falling further into the void of despair is to avoid all contact with said demon. Usually finding something to attach yourself to seems to work as well,"

"Boss, how can I do that? He can find me anywhere I go...there's nothing I can do! And...the last time he came around, he kind of..." Ronald trailed off and wrapped his arms around himself, curling up as best he could. He had been very creeped out by what Sebastian had said to him the last time he appeared and was honestly hoping Will wouldn't pry.

"Kind of what? Ronald, did that demon threaten you? Tell me now, if anyone lays one hand on you, I'll shred them in a heartbeat. Nobody touches my subordinates and gets away with it!" Ronald jumped and backed against the wall, staring at William wide eyed. He'd never seen the man act that way before, it was kind of creepy, but it was a little reassuring at the same time. Maybe he'd get lucky and William's spark of slight psychopathic jealousy would be a good thing. It just might be the one thing to get Sebastian to leave him alone. William cleared his throat and took Ronald's glasses, examining them silently. "Come along, Ronald. The glasses department is on my way, we need to discuss a few things anyway,"

* * *

><p>Alan rubbed his temples in the hopes of making his headache go away, he'd been nursing a murderous hangover since Saturday morning. Luckily he had Eric to help him feel better and to...wait, that was wrong! Though the more he thought about it, he was already going to burn for whatever happened on Friday night. He might as well have fun before the Thorns take him away right? He sighed and slipped a key into the door, peeking through quietly and pouting when it was quiet. He shook his head and slipped his shoes off before entering properly and wandering around, looking through the kitchen first based on the pleasant smell. He stopped when he saw a chocolate peppermint cheesecake on the table with a small note attached.<p>

"_Alan, If I'm still not back when you get here, don't worry. I'll be back soon, enjoy the cheesecake darling, But not too much, otherwise you won't be able to enjoy your dinner. Be back soon, Eric"_

"Where would he have gone though? He usually sleeps until I come over after getting off on a day like this...oh well, hopefully he'll be back soon..." He sniffed a bit and ran a hand through his hair, grabbing a piece and slinking out to the sofa. For whatever reason or another, Eric seemed to have a taste for squishy furniture, which wasn't a terrible issue until Alan ends up almost swallowed by the sofa. He sighed and tried out a piece of the cheesecake and shivered. "Not too bad, Eric..."

"Well thank you, Allie. It's only appropriate for the season after all. Looks like you're about to be swallowed though..." Eric ran a hand through his hair and walked over to Alan, sitting down next to him and draping an arm over his shoulder. "Have you thought anymore about what I said? It might do you some good after all..."

"Don't start with that again, Mr. Slingby, I've told you before that I don't think it would be a good idea. I mean, and what if someone finds out? We'll be humiliated publicly! The humans don't agree with something like that! It's just-"

"But we're not human, and reapers will always be ten times more open minded. Think about it, everybody already thinks there's something going on between us...we might as well put some truth to those rumours. Denial isn't healthy In the slightest, especially for someone in your condition..." Alan set down the plate and stared at him, scowling. What on earth was that supposed to mean? He wasn't diluted by any means! At least he didn't think so, considering how his weekend had gone though, there wasn't really much room for debate.

"I...can I think about it or a bit longer? My head's starting to hurt again, excuse me..." He stood quickly and dashed to the bathroom, shutting the door tightly. "Oh my stars! I'm going insane! He's got to be losing his mind. I mean, he's not been sleeping very well lately and...he's not just worried and feeling sorry, is he?" He sniffed and ran a hand through his hair, pushing his glasses up. He'd been feeling like rubbish since friday, though it had to be from the excess of alcohol. Eric had turned into his mother thanks to that.

_Alan cringed when light streamed through the windows, draping an arm over his face. He furrowed his eyebrows a bit when he realised that his sleeve was a bit too big and made of silk instead of his usual pajamas. Must be Eric's...but he didn't have any of Eric's pajamas at his place, burying his head in the pillow to ignore it. He dropped his arm down as well and opened his eyes slightly, realising at once that there was someone curled up behind him and holding an arm around his waist. _

"_Can't they turn out the light for a few more hours...?" Eric buried his face between Alan's shoulder blades and whined a bit, tightening his arms around Alan's waist. It was rare for him to be hungover, perhaps he'd really drunk a lot more than Alan saw, at least as far as he could remember. The last thing he remembered was Eric pointing out the mistletoe above his bedroom door. _

"_...wait a second...what happened last night?" He rubbed his eyes again and turned over in Eric's arms, brushing a few strands from his eyes. Eric smiled a bit and buried his ace in the crook of Alan's neck, pulling him close._

"_Can't say I remember much...but I did want to ask you something before you passed out last night..." He sniffed and shook his hair out of his eyes, glancing up quietly. "Do you think perhaps, we should put some truth in those rumours that have been flying around?"_

"Alan? Alan, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine...just a second," He ran a hand through his hair again and smiled, wiping off his glasses before he came back out, smiling at the blond, "You know...it might be an alright idea to make those rumours true...maybe people will stop talking after that?"


	11. Fake

**A/N:** Sorry it took so long to update, boys and girls! Holiday insanity and all, ya know? Oh well! I come bearing a new chapter! With a bit of rage and the ensuing rockiness of a new relationship! Y'all know how it is, ne? And who knew Eriku had a temer? Maybe it's not very wise to allow the characters to just play on their own. But...yeah! ^_^ Anyways, I appreciate all of your reviews and really wish for y'all to keep reading! You've all been extremely sweet to me and I'm doing my best not to disappoint. Anyways...on with the chapter!

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><p>Eric rubbed his eyes quietly and looked over at Alan's desk. This was insane, Alan had been going to the infirmary once every other week to check his condition, which was usually fine aside from the fact that he was frail. The second they told him what it finally was they almost collapsed and Alan had a nasty attack following up. Eric's rudeness during the following hours didn't help matters either.<p>

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><p>"<em>The next time you have the audacity to attempt collecting souls your own, you better think twice! If I ever catch you sneaking out to reap on your own again, Humphries, I swear to God I will personally end you! Understand?" Eric growled and pushed Alan back down on his bed, standing quickly and running a hand through his hair. It took a lot for the older brunette to avoid ripping his hair out, or at least his braids, they'd started to hurt like hell whenever he became angry or stressed. "Honestly, to think you were improving...how the hell did you become an honour student when you can't even defend yourself against a rogue record?"<em>

_Alan stayed silent and stared down at the ground, pulling his knees up to his chest. Not four months into his position as a dispatch officer and he was already causing trouble. Although perhaps it should be more like six months, after he'd contracted whatever it was, the sheer force of it seemed to make his brain implode and sent him into a coma. Though the heavy sedatives might have had a hand in that as well, the last thing he remembered was losing his glasses. He held onto the side of his head and glanced over at Eric, only then realising his braids were missing, or at least covered up. Not only that but he was actually dressed according to regulation, aside from his tie. It was bright blue and covered in little black crosses. Geez, this man must have a very colourful wardrobe out of work._

"_You look almost normal for once...why?" Eric adjusted his glasses and looked away from the window only for a moment, a small scowl was the only answer he would receive apparently._

"_Interviews, even that idiot Sutcliff is less flamboyant than usual. We have a whole mass of academy students that want to intern with us, doubtful they'll last a day though. Anymore stupid questions?"_

"_N-n...the proper outfit doesn't suit you, it makes you look fake..." He went wide eyed after saying it and covered his mouth. He'd not meant for that to slip out! The drugs must still be affecting him, yeah that was it. That didn't matter though, at least not to Eric. He stepped up next to the hospital bed and stared at the younger brunette silently, using all of his willpower not to throttle him. _

"_Fake? You think that I look FAKE? You don't even have room to talk! You come in here acting as if you're all pure and innocent when really you're just some idiotic kid! How many professors did you sleep with at the academy to get that honours spot, huh? How dare you have the nerve to call ME fake when you are hardly in a position to do so!" Alan opened his mouth to speak and shut it again quickly, stopping when he realised Eric was throwing his blazer and waistcoat onto Alan's bed. He snifed as he threw the tie off as well and picked up the blazer, ruffling his hair into a disorganised mess and snarling at the smaller man. Alan bit his lip and remained quiet, tensing up as the older brunette sat on top of him._

"_M-mr. Slingby...I-I didn't mean to off—OW!" he gasped as the back of Eric's hand collided with his face loud enough for a loud cracking noise to resonate through the small room. The force knocked off Alan's glasses as he curled up in a ball as best he could, holding his cheek and shaking. "W-what was th-that for?"_

"_If you ever call me fake again, I swear it won't be my hand that you have to fear, kid," He stood and picked up Alan's glasses, snapping them in half and tossing them onto the bed before he stormed out of the room. Alan remained there shaking as a group of doctors came in to check on him, obviously concerned after hearing the ruckus. _

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><p>Eric sighed as he stood outside of the imfirmary, hands in his pockets. He didn't even remember leaving his office. He leaned against the wall and watched quietly, eventually catching sight of Alan entering a room with his nose in a book. Always with those mystery books of his. Though he'd seen the brunette reading worse, and walked in on him in more than one compromising position regarding some of the more...what's the word? Never mind, he shook his head and held open the door for a passing nurse, waiting until she'd disappeared before entering himself. He'd almost completely forgotten the layout after so long of not being there. Finally he stopped momentarily and was pulled into a room before he could speak.<p>

"Miss me?" Eric blinked and turned around quickly, calming down when he realised it was only Alan standing there, grinning like an idiot. "Were you that worried about me, Eric?"

"W-well...no. I just uh...well it's kinda like..."

"Don't lie, Mr. Slingby..."

"Ok, I was worried...but I'd be a bad boyfriend if I didn't worry about how long it took you down here every week, now wouldn't I?" Alan raised an eyebrow and smiled a little. Eric wrapped his arms around him properly and kissed his forehead. He'd be a bad boyfriend if Alan found out that he'd been out collecting souls for him during his assigned collections. The last thing he wanted was for Alan to suddenly change his mind and throw him out into the hall. He snapped out of his thoughts after a moment, glancing up to see Alan slipping off his vest and hopping onto the hospital bed again. "Alan?"

"They won't let me go yet, might as well get comfy, eh?" He cocked his head to the side and smiled at the blond, scooting over to make room for him. Eric ran a hand through his hair and pulled off his gloves and tie as he made his way over, pulling Alan close only to get an arm between them. "E-eric...? What are you doing?"

"Well I thought that since it would be a while, maybe we could-"

"What? I didn't object to a relationship but...no! And...just no! That's disgusting and, and, and...in the hospital? Eric, we're in public! If someone even saw us hold hands we'd-"

"Would you shut up already? Jesus Christ, you can't make up your mind in the slightest, can you? One second you can't keep your hands off of me and the next you're holier than the bleedin' pope! You didn't have to say yes to me, Humphries...frankly I'm surprised you didn't pull the holier-than-thou routine with that," he shook his head and stood up, slipping his tie on quickly without another look.

"B-but...I wasn't trying to...I mean...it's just...something like that...I don't think I could..." Eric stared at him for a moment then shook his head, walking back to the door. "Eric please...I wasn't trying to..."

"Fake."

"Excuse me?"

"I called you fake, Alan. You knew what I asked and then you turn around with your moral bullshit. You need to make up your mind about what you-" He barely saw the brunette move as Alan slapped him hard enough to knock off his glasses.

"Don't you ever call me that again, Slingby! You have no right to use such a nasty term with me!" He narrowed his eyes and picked up the blond's glasses, shoving them in his face before snapping them quickly. "Enjoy the lights, Slingby. Now get out!"


	12. Hypocrisy

**A/N:** Well ladies and gents, I'm sorry about taking so long to update~! I caught a slight case of writer's block...but you see after a bit of studying, knitting, doodling, and reading the wonderful fictiony goodness of my friends, it worked~! ^_^ Anyways uh...I apologise for the William abuse in advance, perhaps I shouldn't write when I'm pissed off at people but hey it makes for awesome writing, ne? Uh...what else? I really dig your reviews everyone, they've been so sweet and I'm glad you're all enjoying it~! Also, if you're detecting the subtle scent of lemon...well there's maybe a hint. Enjoy!

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><p>"Hmmph, it's so white outside...there should be some more red..." Ronald looked up from his desk and blinked, watching Grell stare dreamily out the window. There had to be something behind what he said. Nobody randomly points out that there wasn't enough red outside, even Sutcliff. Ronald was about to say something when he shrugged and sauntered off, catching sight of a rather nasty smirk on his face.<p>

"What the...? Oi, Francis...any reason why Grell is so chipper?" Francis perked up and glanced into Grell's office, watching him twirl around inbetween filing his nails. He stopped twirling though and whined, sitting down again, "Well?"

"Honestly Ronnie, I'd say maybe...he had sex last night? I mean, boy looks a bit sore based on how quick he sat down in there..." He shrugged and stood up, resting his hands on either side of the blond's desk. "You look nervous Ron, what's up? I mean, you're not worried about Grell going after the boss or anything, are you?" Ronald tossed his pen at the younger blond and glared, looking almost like he was going to have a fit. The hell did Francis know about him spending time with Will? It wasn't that obvious how close they were getting, was it? He stood up and pulled open one of the drawers, digging through them then looking back at Francis.

"Francis...Why in the hell would the boss want to go after Grell? They're like total opposites! Grel is loud and flamboyant and...just way too extreme for him! He needs someone who is calm and hard working but still fun and has a sense of humour! Someone that can balance things out! Someone like-"

"Someone like you, Ron? That is way against the rules though, you know that. You even think about a fling with the boss and you both end up in a disciplinary hearing!" Francis fished for his keys in his pocket and followed Ronald to General affairs. It was ridiculous, junior officers had to have their scythes locked up when not in the field, for why? Both needed constant maintenance, especially when Francis was still getting used to having a gas powered scythe. "Really why would you even want a fling with Mr. Spears anyway, he's so boring! He doesn't drink, never goes out to party, odds are he's so uptight that he even showers with his clothes on!"

"I'm afraid that that's all it would be, Ronald..." Both blonds stopped and looked into Eric and Alan's office, watching Alan attempt to organise Eric's desk again. The man could trash his desk in ten minutes. "Ronald, I'm really about you and Mr. Spears...I hope you're not too upset," Ronald blinked and stared at him for a moment, looking to Francis then back into the office. Now he was confused, what did Alan know that he seemed to miss? It was almost insane, considering Alan hated gossip. The only way he could know was if Eric knew. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, looking towards the window for a moment then back to Alan. "Did...did Eric say something about it? I mean, he usually knows everything regarding this type of thing one way or another...must be awful nice for you two to have each other," Alan smiled a little and stood in front of him, glancing at Francis.

"Maybe you should go take care of your scythes, I don't think Ronald is in the best mood to do so," Francis stared at him and nodded quickly, almost running off. "Ronald, it's not exactly considerate to talk about things you don't understand. You're still young and have many many years ahead of you to worry about silly things like romance,"

"I understand perfectly, you two are all happy and in love and all of that rubbish, right? You think that life is a big basket of muffins now that you have to make you smile, is that correct? So was that it, Alan? Did you just want to rub that fact in my face?" He sniffed and took his glasses off, waiting for Alan to in fact start rubbing his relationship in his face, leaving him completely unprepared for what the brunette said next.

"If it's so perfect then why did we already have a fight? Answer me that. I don't even know what caused but..."

"But you're sorry, right? And the next time you break my glasses, try doing something more damaging than snapping the bridge," Eric stood in the doorway and watched them, arms crossed and smirking. "Did you tell him yet, Al? I'm certain it would be better for you to get over him now before you really end up hurt, kid. I'm really sorry..." He rubbed the back of his neck and went to his desk, smiling when he saw it organised again. "Alan, you really need to stop doing that..."

"I wouldn't have to if you would actually keep it clean," He stood and put a hand on Ronald's shoulder, smiling a bit. He really didn't have the nerve to tell Ronald about what had happened with William and Grell. Based on how he'd been acting lately, it might not be wise to tell him something that devastating. He sighed and placed his hands on Ronalds shoulders, not noticing Eric slinking over and sliding his arms around his waist. "Ronald...I'm afraid Mr. Spears and Grell, they uh...Well it's complicated you see. They've been around each other for a long time and...well you know things tend to go with people...and since the academy they've been near each other. But um, I seems that-"

"Will and Grell got back together, kid. Last night, showed up at my place last night stone drunk and searching for the idiot. How it always goes with them...they break up and Will ends up trashed begging for Sutcliff to take him back...I'm sorry kid. I told it was only a matter of time until they got back together, I suggest you set your sights on someone else..." Alan looked back at him when Eric cut in, there was something there in his eyes, and his voice. It took him a moment to place what it was, but it was almost impossible to deny, anger. It was really taking a lot for him to keep from simply flying into a rage about this subject. He glanced back at Ronald and bit his lip, only then realising that he was shaking. "Ronald...?"

"..." a small sniffle, a hiccup, then nothing. He stopped shaking and wiped his eyes, standing up quickly and turning back to them, ruling his hair a bit. Both stared at him and Alan pressed back against his partner as Ronald chuckled, "It's fine. That was a pretty good joke...I should probably go find Francis, we've got some work to do..." He sighed a bit and walked out of the office, finding Francis quickly and grabbing his mower. "Let's get this over with quick and easy, huh? I her the guys in Glasses are having a rave tonight," He grinned and started walking stopping when they passed William's office. It couldn't hurt for him to say goodbye to the boss on he way out, could it? He opened the door quietly and opened his mouth to say something instead stopping dead in his tracks.

"Will..." Grell slid his fingers into William's hair, instantly messing up it's perfect combed back style and causing the dark haired man to pull away and glare at him. "What? Don't tell me you're still against me calling you Will. It's been so long-"

"What do you want, Knox?" William glared past Grell and right at Ronald, adjusting his glasses. Ronald just stood there staring at them, clinging to the door frame for support. "Knox! Either state your business or get out of my office." He remained standing there until William began to move away from Grell, making him pout. "I'll ask you one more time Knox, and it BETTER be important. What do you want?" He opened his mouth a few times only to shut it again and slip out of the office. William raised an eyebrow and shut the door again, making sure to lock it. Ronald grabbed his mower and looked at Francis, shaking slightly.

"Come on...let's go so we can make it to that rave..." He sniffed a little and started walking, Francis trailing behind him. It wasn't exactly his place to ask about Ronald's personal affairs, but whatever he'd seen in William's office must have been retty intense to shake him up like it did. He glanced back to see Eric and Alan staring at them, not entirely surprised by his partner's sudden shock.

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><p><em>"Well well well, seems like you really do listen to orders, shinigami,"<em>

_"Get away from me, you filth." Sebastian simply laughed and ruffled William's hair, slowly making his way around the office. "Did you hear me?"_

_"I heard you fine. I also happened to see what you did, you've greatly reduced the amount of work I'd have to put in with seducing your precious little blond. I must return the favour at some time,"_

_"You stay far away from Ronald, demon. You lay one finger on him and-"_

_"And nothing! I've told you before Spears, I'm already under his skin and there isn't a damn thing you can do to change that. Besides, what would your dearest Sutcliff say if he knew how you felt?"_

_"I feel nothing but revulsion towards Sutcliff..."_

_"Oh? Is that why you showed up at his door, drunk, dishevelled, crying like a child...begging that he take you back? Give up Spears, enjoy your idiot lover. I'll be sure to take good care of Knox," William snarled and grabbed his scythe, directing it right at the demon's throat. "Have I crossed some sort of line, Mr. Spears? You seem to be angry..."_

_"You touch one hair on Ronald's head and I swear you will wish you had stayed in Hell, demon!"_

_"Is that to say you don't want Sutcliff? How indecisive you are, William. You become so possessive of that pretty little blond yet would rather spend your time with a gender-confused psychopath—Which do you prefer William?" The demon grinned as his eyes flashed, tossing the scythe off to the side like it was nothing. "William?" William just stood dumbstruck, rooted to the spot as Sebastian came closer. "William?...William?"_

"William! Get up, man!" Will sat upright and looked around, finally seeing Eric with a hand his shoulder. "Are you alright? Looked like you were having one hell of a nightmare..."

"What do you want, Slingby?" He cringed and pulled his glasses off, rubbing his temples. That really had to have been an insane dream. He slipped his glasses back on and stared at Eric, slightly confused as to what he was doing in his office. "Shouldn't you be out working?"

"Hardly, it's just gone eight. We finished our shift four hours ago thanks to Ronald. Never seen him so focused on working before," He shrugged and grabbed some book off one of the shelves, flipping through it quietly. After what happened earlier, he was convinced Ronald had gone mad. He'd been the first one back and got through his paperwork in almost record time. He'd not spoken to anyone either, perhaps the shock of seeing them together really did a number on him. "Honestly Will, what on earth were you thinking? We'd all thought you were done with Sutcliff, so what the hell happened?" William merely sat at his desk as Eric flipped through the book some more.

"That's none of your business Slingby, go home..."

"Not until you talk to me like a human being Will. Remember I can always send you to the infirmary again for not listening to me," William stared at him and straightened up, looking at the chip In his desk from Grell's chainsaw. How was he supposed to explain it? He didn't want to hurt Ronald, keep him safe, would rather be miserable with Sutcliff than happy with Knox? "Well? Don't tell me you would prefer that Ronald be depressed and convinced that he's hopelessly devoted to some demon while you're miserable with that...thing? That is hardly the William I know. Despite the fact that you've only ever been with that idiot, you had told me that the last time you split was the final time so what changed your mind, Will?"

"What I do is none of your business Slingby—OW!" Eric grabbed his arm and forced him up, twisting it behind his back. "Why do you even care? Sholdn't you be worried about Alan? What I do on my pri-"

"Why would Eric need to worry about me, Mr. Spears? We're more worried about you and Ronald. He was really crushed earlier after seeing you and Grell together, why would you do something like that to him? Do you have any idea how cowardly that is? Something like that makes you out to look like a real rat bastard, you kn-"

"Overtime Humphries, you have no right to speak to your—OW! Slingby, are you trying to break my arm?" William hissed and looked back at Eric, cringing as the blond twisted his arm further. Any more pressure and it would snap no problem. "Why does it even concern you two what I do after hours?"

"Because you weren't doing it after hours, Will. We all saw you, and heard Sutcliff. You can't explain away what the entire office he-"

"Rubbish! There was nothing going on between Sutcliff and I. Have you forgotten? I absolutely despise him!" Both Eric and Alan stared at him, completely shocked. William was making no sense now. He sighed and pulled his glasses off again, looking down at the ground. He couldn't deny that he'd potentially fouled up, especially when the one he had to admit it to was Eric. The man had been the closest he had to a true friend since he left the academy. He glanced back at Eric and shivered, cringing suddenly when the blond tightened his grip on his arm.

"Why would you do that to yourself? If you hate him so much then why in the blue hell would you torture yourself like that? And don't give me any crap about being too nice because we all know that's a damn lie!"

"I—both of you, get out of my office or it'll be double overtime for six months with no p-" Alan walked around behind his desk and punched William hard in the face. He didn't even think about the consequences and suddenly stepped back and held his hand tight. "Y-you...H-huhumphries...?"

"That is low, William T. Spears. What you just said makes you out as a liar and a rat bastard and a filthy coward! How dare you have the nerve to hurt Ronald like that when you know he's already so fragile! You, you, you...you damned bastard!" He narrowed his eyes and punched William again, knocking him hard enough in Eric's grasp to break his arm. "You have some serious issues, Will. I suggest you seriously get your head checked before you hurt someone else," He pushed up his glasses and stormed out of the room, leaving him shaking in Eric's grip.

"I really..."

"Yes you did, Will. Now you need to talk to Ronald, and figure out just what you want to do, dig it?" William looked at the ground and nodded silently, shaking like a leaf. "I'd get that checked out just in case...Alan doesn't quite look it, but he can pack one hell of a whallop," he dropped William into a limp heap on the ground before exiting after Alan. "And by the way, Will. You better not have meant the overtime!"

* * *

><p>"God, I'm getting too old for this..." Eric sighed as he hurried back to Alan's flat. He still had to stop at the market and grab a few things for a late dessert. He stashed his saw and slipped into the market without anyone seeing him. "Just let's get through this...it'll be soon enough...I swear," He swallowed and grabbed what he needed, stopping when he passed and old Japanese woman selling kimonos. He looked at them for a moment and caught sight of a bright blue one with tiny dragonflies all over it. "Whoa..."<p>

"You like, sir?" Eric jumped when the woman nudged him with her cane, grinning. "I think blue suit you. Is there special someone you plan to buy for?" He blushed a bit and ran a hand through his hair, shifting the bag.

"Well uh...My uh, friend...He uh..."

"I see. I tell you what, you seem like nice boy...I give you two for one! Your choice! Come look!" She grinned and motioned for him to take a look. This woman must be blind not to notice the saw under his arm. "How bad are they?"

"Excuse me?" Eric furrowed his eyebrows and the old woman smiled, adjusting her old round frames. It wasn't until she chuckled that Eric realised her eyes were green, albeit dull and pale but green all the same. "How did-"

"Shhh, you take those and go home. Your friend must worry..." She grinned and folded the blue kimono as well as a red one with fans all over it. He barely noticed the other things she slipped in as well. "Good night, have fun!"

* * *

><p>"Eric...what's in the boxes?" Alan glanced over at them once more from across the room. Eric had set them aside and set straight to cooking earlier, working on fixing...something. Chocolate cheesecake with some mint mousse on the side along with a piping hot mug of cocoa. Alan was speechless, and had really tried his hardest to avoid making that obvious to Eric. He set the plate down and shifted a bit, laying his head in Eric's lap and smiling. "It's nothing terrible...is it?"<p>

"Not at all, dear. I just hope you won't kill me..."He was still waiting for an apology accepted from what happened earlier that week. Regardless of that they went right back to being close as ever, he sighed a little and began running his fingers through Alan's hair. The brunette smiled and glanced up at him, reaching up and sliding a hand into the older reaper's hair. It was almost an addiction, Eric's hair, it was soft, thick, wavy and almost like touching a warm silk blanket. Of course when it wasn't loaded with hair products it was even better. "Alan?"

"Hmmm? What was that?" He blinked and shook his hair from his eyes, only then realising he'd been talking and this whole time Alan had been obsessing about his hair. He sat up slightly and bit his lip, blushing heavily. "I uh...sure?" Eric grinned and helped him up, handing him one of the boxes.

"I hope you don't mind the colour," He slid his fingers through Alan's hair before pulling him in for a soft kiss, loosening his bolo tie before nudging him to his room. "Don't take too long..."


	13. Squeeze

**A/N: **Y'all remember that hint of lemon I mentioned last chapter? Hehe, well...you'll see! ^_~ Also a little more of Sebby screwing with Ronald. Oooh! Anyone read the new chapter yet? Way epic! And one other thing regarding chapter 65 and the current arc...I KNEW IT! Greatest...Titanic...doujin...EVER~! Thank you for the reviews darlings, they've been so sweet and charming and hopefully they've got y'all talking! I hope you're enjoying so far! ^_^

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><p>"Eric Slingby, I'm going to kill you!" Eric peeked through the bathroom door and caught sight of Alan, standing in front of him in the kimono. It actually did look pretty good on him, The red wasn't too bright, the fans had enough colour to compliment both the background and his complexion, and the plain black sash looked just right. He smirked a bit and looked down at the ground, darting his eyes back up after a moment.<p>

"Uhhhhh Alan? Where did you get the stockings from?" He pulled his tie loose and opened the door properly, leaning against the frame with his shirt open and his trousers hanging low on his hips. Did he always wear his trousers like that? Hmm, well regardless of that he cleared his throat and straightened up a bit, blushing slightly. "You alright?"

"They uhhhhh, they were in the box..." He looked down and blushed a bit more, feeling small under Eric's gaze. Really he felt like an idiot in this thing, he'd much rather prefer his pajamas at this point and hopefully Eric wouldn't mind. "Look, I um...I'm going to slip on my pajamas...nothing personal! This thing is just...really thin," He nodded and dashed back to his room, slamming the door shut and panting wildly, holding his chest. "...Dear god...why does he have to be so pretty? It's not right, it's just not right at all! I mean, think about it Alan, you've already contradicted yourself by agreeing to go out with him. But...well whatever happened last month...Oh my god, why did he have to be that damn SEXY?" He threw himself onto his bed and shouted into the pillow, sitting straight up when there was a knock at the door.

"A-alan...? Are you alright in there?" Alan stared silently and crawled to the foot of his bed, head cocked to the side. Usually if he was quiet for this long then Eric would break down the door and make sure he wasn't...oh no. He cringed and grabbed his chest hard, falling off the bed and hitting the wall with his foot.

"Dear god, it burns!" He swallowed hard and glanced at the door, flinching when the door burst open and Eric knelt down next to him and pulled the brunette into his arms. Alan gasped and held his chest tighter, digging his nails in and curling up into Eric's hold. "Help me...it hurts!"

"What can I do?" He bit his lip and rocked Alan gently, burying his nose in the brunette's hair. He didn't know what else to do but to rock him and comfort him until it was over. He kissed the top of Alan's head and continued to rock him until he quit shaking and his breathing became less ragged. "A-alan?" The brunette hiccuped a little and glanced up at Eric, blushing instantly when he realised how close they were, as well as how his kimono was currently laying. During his attack, it had ripped slightly and came loose at the waist. He swallowed hard and shivered when Eric slid his fingers down his side. "I uh...maybe we should...why don't I...?"

"Uh, yeah...maybe we should, um..." He pushed up Eric's glasses and wrapped an arm around his neck, pulling him close. He blushed heavily and leaned up slightly, going wide eyed as Eric closed the gap between them and kissed him softly, holding him close and continuing to run his fingers down his sides. Alan slid his fingers through his hair and purred quietly, whining a little when Eric pulled away and stared at him, clearing his throat.

"Kind of cold down here...don't you think?" Alan blinked and nodded, biting his lip. He ran his fingers through Eric's hair and pulled himself up a bit more. He smiled a little as Eric helped him up and slid up against the wall, cocking his head to the side. "Maybe I should..."

"Where are you going, Eric?" The blonde looked up and ran a hand through his hair. He couldn't be thinking of trying to...no! That was insane, he'd just had an attack! Stress like that would- "Eric. Answer me,"

"I was...you should probably get some rest..." He cleared his throat and started to slip out the door, not even seeing Alan come to him and pulled him back. He chuckled a bit as Alan pushed his shirt and tie off of his shoulders. "A-alan...you need to rest, you just had an-"

"I don't want to rest, Eric. I'm perfectly fine, you are not going to leave me high and dry again, understood?" He smirked and slid his hands down Eric's chest, biting his lip when he ghosted his fingers along the bumps and bruises on his body. After a moment, he looked back up and took his hands, pulling the blond back towards his bed. Eric opened his mouth to object but was cut off by Alan pulling him down for another kiss. He groaned softly as Eric brushed his thumb over his side and slid one of his legs between Alan's, making the brunette whimper and pull him back. He fell onto the bed and pulled Eric with him, giggling when he landed on top. "Please...? Convince me that I'm not committing a terrible sin?" Eric straddled his hips quietly and stared at him, absolutely confused as to what Alan was so desperate for.

"But...how do you want me to...? I mean, would you be willing to...?"

"Just shut up and act natural, huh?" He smiled and slipped off Eric's glasses, placing them on the night stand along with his, shifting slightly and looking back up at him. He bit his lip and gasped as Eric slid his tongue along his neck, pouting softly and squeaking when Eric nipped his earlobe, blowing on the mark softly and pulling a groan from Alan, as well as sliding his hands down to the waistband of his trousers. "That doesn't mean you get to be slow though..." Eric stopped and pulled back slightly, looking right at him. It took a moment for the blond to contemplate whether or not Alan was actually willing to let him go through with this or if he could only go so far. He shook his hair out of his eyes and pulled at the black cloth around his waist, finally managing to get it of and opening the kimono. He stopped and stared silently for a moment, surprised at Alan's lack of...well anything really under that bit of fabric. "E-eric? Are you alright...?" He saw the look on the blond's face and blushed, sitting up on his elbows and smiling a bit, he wasn't having second thoughts, was he?

"Hm? Oh...I uh, I'm fine...you're sure you want to do this?" He cocked his head to the side and blushed a little as Alan shrugged off the kimono, tossing it to the side and pulling Eric into another kiss. He purred and nipped Alan's bottom lip, sliding a hand into his hair and the other down his torso, curling them around his length. Eric shifted slightly as Alan arched his back, letting out a groan.

"Nnngh...Please, I can't take it..." He shuddered and glanced up at Eric, pulling his hair gently, "...You look so much better with dark hair..." He chuckled and ran his fingers down Eric's chest again, stopping when he hit the blonds trousers. "No fair..."

"Well's there's an easy way to fix that darling," He winked and moved his hands, earning a whimper from the brunette as he unbuckled his trousers quickly. Alan watched him silently and shifted a bit, shoving his trousers down and throwing them to the side. He looked up and bit his lip slightly, curling his fingers around Eric's erection and stroking it slowly. Honestly he hadn't the foggiest idea of how Eric liked it but he could at least try, right? He blushed slightly when he heard a quiet growl from the blond when he'd squeezed lightly. He grinned a bit and leaned forward a little, flicking his tongue against the tip and earning a groan. "Don't...tease me, H-humphries..." he slid his fingers through Alan's hair and purred when he flicked his tongue again, taking the head into his mouth nervously. At least Eric was encouraging, he'd never done this sort of thing and apparently wasn't doing too terrible of a job. He closed his eyes and hummed softly, not really going any further to avoid hurting himself, sliding one of his hands down to massage Eric's balls gently. The blond shook his hair out of his eyes and pulled Alan up and into another kiss, this time none too gentle. Both moaned softly as both teeth and tongues crashed, Alan digging his nails into Eric's chest and dragging them down slowly. Eric growled into the kiss and pinned the brunette to the bed, lacing their fingers together and grinding his hips down. Alan pulled away and tilted his head back, moaning softly.

"Oooooohhhhhh, Eric...I want you so bad...please take me...?" Eric looked up from kissing his neck and smirked a little, nipping his collar bone to earn a soft gasp.

"You're sure?" Alan nodded and pushed the blond's hair out of his eyes, motioning to the drawer on his night stand. Eric climbed over him and opened the drawer quickly, digging around until he found a small bottle of oil and returned to laying between the smaller man's thighs. Alan swallowed as the older reaper coated his fingers quickly before leaning over him again. "Last chance to back out..."

"...Don't even think about it. Convince me that this isn't wrong...I'm tired of punishing myself," He shook his hair out of his eyes and arched his back as Eric took one of his nipples into his mouth, sliding his hand down his torso and pressing a finger against his entrance. Alan tensed up slightly only to relax again thanks to that devilish mouth of Eric's. Grell was right...he did have some nice uses for that smart mouth of his...and his hands, oh dear were his hands making him crazy. He didnt even realise that Eric already had two fingers inside of him until the blond brushed against his prostate. "OOOHHHH...Again...do it again, Mr. Slingby..." Eric looked up and bit his lip, shifting slightly as he added a third finger and attacked Alan's neck, causing him to writhe and moan like a cat in the worst point of heat. He brushed against his prostate again as he arched his hips, digging his nails into the blond's shoulders. "No more...teasing. Please, just do it...already..."

"Oh...? You sound almost desperate. Do you want it th-"

"One more word Slingby and I'll grab my scythe..." It was an empty threat, of course. In his state, he was amazed that he could even form a coherent sentence. He shivered as Eric leaned down licked a path up his torso from his belly button, withdrawing his fingers and grabbing the oil again. He sat up and looked down at Alan for a moment, almost collapsing when he finally had taken a good look at him. There he was, blushing bright red, head tilted back, breathing ragged with a small layer of sweat on his body. Looking weak any other time than this would make one think he was having a bad attack. He swallowed hard and coated his length slowly, tossing the bottle off somewhere. He leaned over Alan again and nipped his neck to get his attention, almost blown away by his expression when he turned his head. He really was blushing heavily, his eyes were halfway closed, but what he could see was that they were dilated heavily, almost black with such raw need. He swallowed heavily and slid his arms under the brunettes body, pulling him close as Alan wrapped his arms around his neck. "Eric...?"

"Don't worry dear...I'll be very gentle, I promise..." He pressed his lips to Alan's and slowly pushed into him, stopping once he'd pushed in slightly to let him adjust. This could be harder than he thought, Alan had never experienced such intimacy before for sure and was cringing, sliding his fingers into the blonds hair and pulling slightly. Eric pulled back and pressed his forehead against his partners as he pushed further, biting his lip when Alan cringed and a few tears formed at the corner of his eyes.

"It hurts..."

"I know...just relax..." He nipped Alan's shoulder gently as he pressed further, continuing in this small pattern, pressing in, stopping, pressing further, stopping, kissing away the tears, pressing once more until he was buried to the hilt. He couldn't help but moan softly as he finally felt Alans heat around him, kissing his forehead. "You're so tight...Relax a little?" Alan narrowed his eyes and stared at him.

"I'm...as relaxed as can be...it hurts so much..." He groaned softly as Eric shifted, brushing against his prostate slightly. It wasn't until he pulled out and pushed back in slightly that Alan's whimpering turned into a quiet groan, slowly but surely repeating until the brunette was no longer whining but moaning softly, clinging to him again. He tilted his head back as Eric began to develop a proper rhythm, keeping to his word he was gentle, slow and...not good enough. "ooooohhhh...h-harder...M-mr. Slingby..." He tilted his head back as the blond shifted and began to roll his hips instead of simply thrusting. He shook his hair out of his eyes and complied with the request. He groaned softly as Alan rocked his hips up to meet him, grabbing the blankets in his fists. It hurt so bad...but at the same time it felt so good, it was like the sweetest sin, accepting the pain and devouring the pleasure with each passing moment. He threw his head back and moaned loudly as Eric thrust directly into his prostate. The blond groaned as Alan tensed slightly, leaning down and biting hard on his neck, marking him for God and everybody to see.

"Jesus Alan...you feel s-so good..." He breathed into the smaller man's ear and moaned softly as he felt his legs wrap around his waist, pulling him closer as his thrusts became deeper. After almost seventy years of waiting, he finally had his precious trainee. Of course Alan was far from the quiet bookworm he'd been back then. He shifted slightly and pulled Alan up with him into a sitting position, pushing upwards and attacking his neck again as the smaller man tilted his head back and let out a rather lewd moan. He bit his lip and rolled his hips against Eric's as he thrust upwards.

"Ah, aahhn~ Right there, Eric! Oooohhhh, don't stop...!" He moaned loudly and dug his nails in hard, leaving little crescent shaped marks in Eric's back. The blond growled and thrust up hard, lying back and holding on to his hips. He thrust up into the brunette and tilted his head back, watching Alan writhe on top of him. Alan moaned loudly and splayed his hands out on Eric's chest, rolling his hips and shuddering violently as Eric hit his prostate again. He arched his back and gasped when he felt Eric wrap his fingers around his aching length. He was so focused on the feeling of Eric inside of him and the stars he was seeing that he'd completely forgotten about the rest of his anatomy needing attention. "Nnngh, please Eric...it feels so good~! I'm so close~!" He threw his head back and clenched his fists slightly, clenching around the blond every time he thrust up.

Eric held his hip tighter and squeezed his erection hard, his thrusts starting to become erratic. He tilted his head back as his stomach began to coil tightly, tilting his head back as Alan's body twitched above him. He pulled the brunette down and grabbed a fistful of his hair, pulling him into a passionate kiss as their sweet rhythm devolved into a heated, rough, sweaty collection of moaning and writhing. Alan whimpered and tensed up, dragging his nails down his chest slightly as he reached his climax, his seed spilling between them and coating their stomachs and Eric's hand. Eric gasped as the smaller man tensed around him and pushed him over the edge with his last thrust as he came inside his lover. Alan hung his head and collapsed against the older reaper with no amount of grace at all, both of them panting heavily. Alan smiled a little and kissed Eric's shoulder.

"Did I convince you...?" He glanced over and rubbed his back gently, not bothering to shift for fear of hurting Alan. It was already for certain that he would be extremely sore tomorrow, work would be absolute hell especially with Sutcliff taunting him. Alan squirmed slightly and pushed Eric's hair out of his eyes, smiling at the strange feeling of it being a bit damp with sweat from their exertions. He'd been ragging on everyone constantly with all of his homophobia for so long, now he could see what they were always going on about. "Much as I'm sure you'd like to curl up...you're really quite heavy," Alan glanced at the blond and smiled a little, cringing when they rolled over and Eric slowly pulled out of him. Perhaps that might have been a wise idea.

"Eric...is it supposed to hurt like this?" He winced a little as the blond pulled the blankets over them, wrapping his arms around him and kissing the back of his neck.

"Unfortunately, odds are you'll be sore for a few days...it'll get better before you know it. For now, just rest my dear, we have a long day tomorrow..."

* * *

><p>"Ronald..." Ronald cringed and pulled the covers over his head. He'd been having the strangest dreams for the last few days. Every night they were getting more and more intense, and now it was almost like they were really happening. "Oh Ronald..." A pair of hands slid down the young reapers chest and made him groan, arching his back into something...that was NOT his blankets. He stirred slightly and opened his eyes quickly, staring right up at Sebastian Michaelis. "Hello there, Ronnie-dear...finally ready to stop pushing me away?"<p>

"How did you get in here?" He looked around for his glasses, the demon turning his face back to him and sliding them onto his face. He swallowed hard when he realised how close the demon really was.

"That's not important, now is it? I heard about William, terrible shame..." He moved the blankets away and sat back slightly, straddling the blonds hips and examining him. Looking like something from a painting as the moonlight washed over him. Ronald stared right at him as his eyes began to glow, a smirk rising as he leaned down to press his forehead against his prey. "I told you...he could never give you the love you want..." tracing his finger along his jaw and turning his chin to press his lips to the young reapers, stopping and perking up when he heard something.

"Sebastian! Where are you? Answer me!" the demon smirked and slid out of Ronald's bed, looking back at him as he saw the boy reach out to him.

"P-please, don't leave yet...I don't want you to go..." Hmmm, apparently heartbreak makes the reapers receptive. Perfect. Sebastian smirked and leaned to to Ronald's level, brushing their noses together gently.

"But I must...my master will worry...Ill be back soon, I promise," his eyes flashed once more as he pulled the blond into a soft kiss, sliding his fingers through his hair and purring softly. He pulled away far too soon for Ronald's liking and smirked. "Soon enough, Ronald...you won't be able to escape me..."

* * *

><p>"Sutcliff, I have an assignment for you. Refusal will have you sent bck to academy, understood?" William tossed a folder onto the redhead's desk, the impact of it startling him awake. William scowled and pushed his glasses up. "Lord...the least you could do is learn to not fall asleep during your over time work." Grell whined and rubbed his eyes, looking up at William.<p>

"Oh...do I have to? These investigations are so boring...! Hey Will, I know of something better we could do~..." He tossed his hair over his shoulder and stood up, slinking over to the dark haired man and pulling him close by the tie. "Why don't we go have some fun on that squishy new sofa of-"

"Forget it. I have no desire to engage in intercourse with the likes of you," He stepped away and made to open the door, stopping when Grell brandished his chainsaw.

"You're not breaking up with me again William T. Spears. I cant handle another heartbreak!"

"We never got back together. A one night stand hardly counts. Now get to work Sutcliff," William adjusted his glasses once more before leaving the office. He sighed as he stopped by a window and stared out at the moon. How was Ronald? Was he still angry about what had happened? It hadn't been what Knox had seen. He'd been leaning against Sutcliff to suppress his hangover, which resulted in no luck when he tore into Knox. He swallowed hard and continued on his way, rubbing the bruise on his cheek. Cringing a little from both that and the pain in his arm, he sighed and pulled a small picture of Ronald from the sling cradling his injured arm. "I hope you can forgive me, Ronald..."


	14. Anxiety

**A/N: **Ok so in case you've not been paying much attention to the supporting cast, we've got this charming little guy in the Glasses Department named Thomas Barker~! I've never done an OC in a fandom before so I apologise heavily in advance if you don't like him. Yes he's twitchy, yes he's only got one friend. Poor anti-social little bugger, dunno what he's gonna do without Alan around~.AHEM! Anyways uh...hmm, yeah. He doesn't get out to the human realm much, poor darling. Trying to gradually fall in line with the musical, doing my best here people~!

* * *

><p>"Ahhhhhhh~, Tommy-dear! What can I do for you, today? Hmmmm~?" Undertaker giggled and stared at the brunette, a little puzzled as to what he was doing out in London. It wasn't exactly often that Thomas left the shinigami realm, and when he did it was usually to collect a reaper or something they left behind. There were plenty of other people in the London Dispatch, mainly the reserve collections department, that could do the job just as well. This is what he gets for leaving the academy with an average of AA. He sighed and picked up a jar of eyes, twirling it around in his hands. "Tea?" Thomas looked over and shook his head.<p>

"No thanks, I wish I could be here for a casual visit but...I've come to gather a few things for the collections department. Apparently, the red one can't seem to do his job. So here I am! I hate to ask this, professor but please...have you heard anything?" He set down the jar of eyes and looked at the others, cringing a bit when he saw one full of...Spleens? "Eeeewwww..."

"Even for you Tommy my information comes at a price, hee hee. You know what I want," He hopped on a coffin and Thomas cringed a little, grabbing the grey medical bag on the desk. At least the Undertaker knew that the brunette had no sense of humour, and no capacity for telling jokes either. "Well~? What do you have for me today...?" He pushed the giant oval frames up his nose and pulled out a jar with a pair of kidneys in it. The fact that he had to sneak into the morgue just to add to the old man's collection was either terribly desperate or disturbingly morbid. Of course after 66 years it was nothing new to Thomas, though it never got any less disgusting. "Oooooohhhhh, these are nice and healthy too~! So rare that my clients have such pretty kidneys...! Hehehe, now Tommy-dear, you sure you don't want some tea?" he nodded and wandered around, running his fingers along one of the coffins. "Care to see how your order is coming along while you're here?"

"Professor why has it taken so many years for you to make one casket?" He shivered when he tucked his hair out of his eyes and followed the old man back through to a private room, shivering the whole way. "I mean, usually you can churn out a whole bunch within a few hours?" He pushed up his glasses and peeked into the room, looking around until he saw what he was looking for. "Oh...wow...that is incredible..." Undertaker giggled again while he walked around it, sliding his fingers along the polished wood and biting his lip. As much he hated to admit, it did look like something Alan would want to be buried in. It was a polished black with white Erica shaped flowers inset all around it. The inside was black as well and looked almost like a cloud. "But, why did it take so long? What if he'd died before you could have finished it?"

"Oh dear little Tommy...you underestimate me~! This has been finished for many many years!" Thomas blinked and looked up at the Undertaker, nodding silently. "You seem surprised, is something wrong?" He cocked his head to the side and pouted when the brunette ran out of the room, wasn't hard to find him though. Since he'd retired and had occasional visits from Thomas, the kid would always end up under his desk, shaking and crying. He'd been getting better at not shattering into so many pieces when he came around but it still happened, as it was now with him curled up and sniffling quietly under the desk. "Tommy, it's hard...but you know as well as I that little Alan is stubborn, hes got a good long more decades before the Thorns destroy him..."

"That's not the point! He's my best friend! My...only friend, we've been close since the academy. Two misfits against the rest of the slackers..." He sniffed and hugged his knees closer to his chest. "What if...What am I gonna do when he's gone?" The undertaker plopped down beside him properly and began fiddling with his hat, taking it off and handing the brunette a shrunken head, "What on-Oh disgusting! Why do you keep that under your hat?" He made to get up and slammed his head on the top of the desk, crawling out quickly and staring at him, shaking a little. "That is just creepy..." He took a few steps back and jumped when there was a sudden knock at the door.

"Undertaker! Open up, already!" Thomas squeaked and looked around panicked while the old man simply kept giggling. Really, of all times to be getting all giggly, this was not one of them. Unless all retired reapers went crazy like this, then he'd much rather spend his time repairing glasses until he dropped.

"Come on now, Tommy dear, in the box~!" Thomas stared at the old man and shook his head, there was no way in HELL he would spend time in one of those again.

"C-can't I hide in one of those rooms or something? Last time I almost had a panic attack!" He jumped again when the stranger at the door rapped once more, grabbing his bag and dashing into one of the rooms before the old man could respond. He sighed when he heard the person—no two people come in. He ran a hand through his hair and hopped on top of the fancy casket, running a hand over one of the flowers. This was the thanks he gets for not staying in Collections probably. He'd tried his best during their years at the academy, he really did but he just hadn't been cut out for that division, at least not in London.

"_You're what? Thomas, do you have any idea how bad that will look on your record? What if they don't let you into another department?" Alan stared at him from the mass of papers on their footlockers shoved together. Thomas shrugged and rubbed the towel over his wet hair again, flopping down by the other brunette and sighing. Alan got lucky, he got to spend a week in the Glasses department, at least he thought so. For the past two days, all he'd done was whine about how terribly boring it was. "And besides, the London collection department is the best in all of Europe, why would you want to give up such an opportunity?"_

"_Because they're insane! The supervisor's assistant is cruel beyond belief, real rules-y type, ya know? Like he's got some kinda bloody bug in his bum. Probably does too, him and this one red haired fella are always talking so quiet, and if it ain't that then they're usually in his office getting intimate, like waaaaay intimate and the red one flirts with everybody!" He sat up and pulled the towel to his shoulders, trying not to giggle at the look on his roommate's face._

"_What do you mean, flirts? Like...with the girls in th-"_

"_What girls? There's only four right now, Mr. Spears, Mr. Sutcliff, Mr. Slingby and the boss, but everyone calls the boss Undertaker for some reason, he's a living legend, Al! Although...Mr. Slingby is working abroad in Italy right now, Undertaker says he's one of the best."_

"_Y-you mean...Undertaker, as in the professor? No way! I would love to work with him! What's he like? Is he strict? Relaxed? What sort of punishments does he give? How about his policies?" Thomas stared at him and shoved the other trainee's glasses up his nose._

"_Relax, he's pretty laid-back actually, very calm and all, his assistant though is so anal retentive...and dear lord his boyf-"_

"_Please don't say it, Thomas. That is disgusting that anyone could do that themselves..."_

"_Can I least tell you what he's like?" Alan gave him a look and went back to his papers, filling out what he needed to about the importance of proper glasses care. He was in no mood to hear about some flamboyant, psychotic freak of nature who was probably unstable on every level. "I mean, he's a deadly efficient worker, always gets his collections in on time and all, he's just...interesting," Alan glanced back as Thomas slid off the bed and grabbed his scythe, taking a few practice swings before Alan could whine about him being lazy. _

"_I...suppose?" He shrugged and continued writing, occasionally looking through one of their textbooks to make sure his facts were right. He could really care less about what he was like, especially if he had a habit of making passes at others. He'd become so engrossed in his work though that he didn't see Thomas slink behind him and slide his arms around his waist._

"_Ooohhhh~ Mr. Barker yore so clever and strong~! Perhaps I show you a few other uses for that charming little scythe of yours! Maybe I could even show a few endurance exercises t—OW! Alan!" Alan elbowed him in the ribs again and stood up quickly, dashing to the other side of the room._

"_What in the world was that about?"_

"_I told you, Al. Mr. Sutcliff flirts with everybody, it's creepy and that is exactly what he did earlier! Then he got yelled at by Mr. Spears and then they both were reprimanded by Undertaker, I guess usually Mr. Slingby is in charge of keeping them in line and—Alan?" Alan had been looking through Thomas's assignment and found the copy of Mr. Slingby's personnel file. He pushed up his glasses and smirked some when he realised that Alan was blushing while he read through the man's file. _

"_Wow..."_

"_Yeah, gorgeous ain't he?" Idiot. Of course that's why he'd be blushing but instead perked up and closed the file. _

"_You've got to trade with me, Tom! Please? It's so boring fixing glasses all day and calculating lens strengths and...please? It's got to be exciting in that department and I want some excitement, please?"_

"_Alright, alright! Relax, I'll switch! But its gonna be a long night explaining procedures,"_

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HOOHOOHOO! HEEHEE, brilliant as ever, master Michaelis!" Thomas jumped and stared out towards the main parlour, swallowing hard. He bit his lip and slipped off the casket, silently slinking to the doorway and peeking out in that direction, staring and letting out a quiet squeak when Sebastian's eyes locked with his. He blushed heavily and pushed up his glasses, swallowing hard. Is that who Mr. Knox was talking about? He'd overheard the kid talking to Alan about some demon harrassing him and based on his appearance this man fit the bill to a T. Sebastian glanced over while the Undertaker spoke to the little blue haired kid and smirked.

"Its very rude to intrude on a private conversation, young man..." Thomas simply kept still, twitching a little. "Hooooo, you must be one of dear little Ronald's friends..." He squeaked and dashed out past Sebastian.

"You stay far away from me, you demon!" He banged into the desk and panted heavily, turning and staring at the demon in pure terror. "I mean it...you take one more step to-" He swallowed and held his chest, trying to calm down, damn his anxiety. "One more step towards and I'll-" More panting, grabbing his scythe and giving it a few swipes before he dropped it and grabbed his chest, "You keep yer filthy paws off me, ya hear? Ain't got the—the...the..." He clinged to the desk and started gasping heavily, alarming the Phantomhive boy as the demon pulled him away. "Filthy..." He swallowed hard and cringed before fainting.

"_P-professor?" Undertaker looked up from his desk and sat back as a student came in, clutching his books and shaking like a leaf. Poor kid looked absolutely terrified beyond comprehension. Not like it could be helped though, it wasn't uncommon for third years to still be nervous about spending a week in one of the departments. This particular student had the Undertaker's curiosity, he was quiet, jumpy, usually in the back of the class with...of what was his name again? Humphries, that's it! The kid cleared his throat and pushed up his glasses, twitching a little when Undertaker stood up. "I-I uh...h-have this assignment here...Ive g-got to sp-"_

"_I know about it, Mr...?"_

"_B-barker, sir. Thomas Barker..." He sniffed a bit and rand a hand through his hair, looking aroung the office and jumping away when he saw a jar of teeth on a bookshelf, "AAAHHH! What is that? Why is there a jar of teeth in here? That's just creepy, Professor!" Undertaker chucked and pushed up his glasses, crossing his arms and watching the student squeak and jump away from every jar and anything that just looked questionable in general. "What is...with all this weird..." He held onto the books tighter and started panting heavily the more he looked around the room. Undertaker furrowed his eyebrows and stood up quickly, walking around and putting a hand on his shoulder, smiling when he started to relax a little._

"_You're quite jumpy aren't you? Must have had a rather painful death, huh?" He shrugged and stared at the Undertaker silently, not realising that his knuckles had turned white from how hard he was holding the books. "Relax Tommy-dear...Let me go get my assistant and he'll fill you in on how things will go this week, hmm?" He forced Thomas into a chair and left the room, searching around. "Ooooh Willie-kins~! Where are you?" Thomas blinked and scanned the office quietly, jumping when he felt a pair of hands on his shoulders._

"_Please don't hurt me! I swear, I didn't mean to break that red scythe!" the hands on his shoulders tightened._

"_So it was you~! You little rat, I'll kill you!" He dropped his books and squirmed out from under the man's grip, dashing around to the other side of the desk, shaking like a leaf. He swallowed hard and stared at the red reaper, squeaking when he dashed around near him and grabbed his throat. "No good little brat, you destroyed my baby~! How dare you even think to touch a lady's possessions so carelessly?" Thomas coughed and whimpered, trying to pry Grells hands off of him._

"_Sutcliff! What do you think you're doing? Put him down right this instant. Unless of course, you don't want to-"_

"_Will...you wouldn't~!" The dark haired man raised an eyebrow and he let go of Thomas in a heartbeat, both watching the brunette dash out of the office before he could even blink. _

* * *

><p>"Tommy, I would highly suggest looking into getting some assistance for these anxiety issues of yours. According to Mr. Anderson they've been interfering with your work every so often," Thomas remained silent and stared down at his tea, shifting his weight on the freezing coffin. "You didn't catch any of what I told the Little Phantomhive and that butler of his, did you?" The brunette shook his head and kept his eyes low, pushing is hair out of his eyes. "If you want-"<p>

"Professor please, just give me the information I asked for so I can go home..." He curled up into a ball and looked around, setting the tea aside and sniffing. He didn't want to inconvenience the ueady had. Undertaker pouted and stood up, flipping his hair a little and stalking away from the twitchy reaper, returning with a body slung over his shoulder. He dropped the body onto another coffin and motioned for him to come over. "What's the corpse for?"

"Just take a look at it, Tommy. There's no signs of a struggle, like they didn't even feel it, yet there's a huge gash in her abdomen. She doesn't look like she even felt it! Now does she?" Thomas stared quietly and bit his lip, shaking his head, "No she does not! Now the only way this could be was that she was not killed by a human~! No human could be so skilled with such a thing, now could they?"

"So...it had to be a demon, right? Or maybe another reaper?" Undertaker perked up at the mention of it being a demon. Thomas may be a little naïve but he couldn't be that clueless, could he? What indication was there that it could possibly be a demon? Aside from the missing soul, of course. "Wait...Is that even possible for a reaper to make a cut so flawless? I mean so that they wouldn't feel it?"

"It is very possible, Tommy. I will admit though that it is a skill that can take many decades or even centuries to perfect,"

"Professor...You're not doing this, are you?" Undertaker cocked his head to the side and pouted.

"How could I? Even if I wanted to, I don't have the means..." He chuckled and started twirling around, tripping on his robes and falling down, cackling hysterically.

"Whoa! Are you alright?" Undertaker continued to giggle as Thomas dashed over, blinking when he wasn't where he landed. "...Oh dear..."

"BOO~!"

"AHH!" The brunette cringed and curled up into a ball, pulling his hair loose. "Please don't hurt me!"

"So...You don't want a cookie?" The old man giggled again and waved a biscuit in Thomas's face, squeaking when he grabbed the biscuit and pulled Undertaker over the desk. "Still a no, huh?"

"Give it. That is really not very nice, professor!" He pouted and stood up, ruffling his hair again and and adjusting his glasses. "Anyways, I should get back before I get into too much trouble. I'll see ya!" He grabbed his bag from the room and ran out of the shop, tripping over his feet in his panic. "Ow..."

* * *

><p>Eric sighed as he watched the children running around the park from a tree. He ran a hand through his hair as Grell appeared next to him, straightening out his hair.<p>

"Ahn~, my my tha-"

"Shut up Sutcliff, we all know you and William aren't back together." The blond didn't even bother to look over, far from being in the mood to deal with such an annoying redhead. Had it not been for Alan having the day off then he could just deal with Ronald like usual. Though Alan not having to come in might be a good thing, he'd been rather sore when Eric had left and probably would have been terribly miserable. "Don't you have any souls to collect?"

"Nope~! Finished them all about an hour ago~! Where else do you think I've been, darling?" He shot the redhead a filthy look and hopped out of the tree, going after his next soul. He never did like having to collect children, they always cried, no matter how gentle you were with them. He ran a hand through his hair as the kid stopped and was grabbed by a filthy old man, kicking and screaming to get loose.

"Get yer bleedin' 'ands offa me, ya filthy beggar! I ain't done nuffin'-" The man tightened his grip around the boys throat and smirked as he resisted more, Eric gripping his scythe hard enough to turn his knuckles white. Oh this man would definitely get it. He'd honestly hoped that he'd end up on Grell or Ronald's collection lists as horrible as he was. The man dropped the kid on the ground when he'd stopped fighting, walking away as Eric came out of hiding. He knelt down by the child and placed a hand on his head, looking away as he sobbed in his last few moments.

"I'm so sorry, I promise you'll be alright soon, you won't even realise I've been here..." He sighed and dragged his scythe along the boys body, watching the record silently before stampign it 'Complete'. "man I really hate doing this to kids..." Glancing down at the body once more before standing and walking off.

"Aww~! You're so compassionate, Eric! It's so cute to see you have such a—OW!" Eric stuck his arm and saw straight out as Grell ran after him, whining and pouting after clotheslining himself. "How cruel~! You should know to treat a lady with more respect~!"

"I thought you liked it when people were cruel to you, Sutcliff..."

"Only William~! He's so sadistic and that cold stare of his is just so thrilling~!" He wiggled around on the ground obscenely, not noticing Eric walk off after a group of girls. He put his saw away and caught up to them, snatching up a handkerchief that one of them had dropped. He stopped for a moment and furrowed his eyebrows, sniffing it a litte.

"Ugh, marigold...disgusting..." He shook his head and followed after the girls again, watching silently until they were all settled. He couldn't do this, could he? These girls were young! Barely sixteen by the looks of it, they had their whole lives ahead of them!

"Oh dear, I forgot! I saw some lovely flowers on the way over here!" The girls giggled as one got up and Eric made his way over, stopping before the girl could walk away.

"Excuse me, Miss. I believe you dropped this,"


	15. Remorse

**A/N:** Hopefully y'all didn't mind that sway into the view of an eventual character that will have a bit more to say than just "eep!". Better yet I hope you all thought he was just as adorable as well~! Hmmmm, and for the record I'm tired of writing Sebastian, he's not my favourite character anyway. So...let's see, what else? OOH! Go check out EmoMagician's story 'Can You Fix Me?' it's very awesome! Your reviews have been very sweet~! I hope to keep you all entertained~!

* * *

><p>"Knox! My office! Now!" Ronald perked up and stared at William, standing outside with his arms crossed as best he could. He'd been none too thrilled about doing collections one-handed, or paperwork, or...well anything really. Ronald bit his lip as he slowly made his way to the supervisors office, glancing around. He closed the door and ran a hand through his hair, not willing to look at the taller man in the slightest. Instead he went to one of the bookshelves, examining it silently. "Ronald..."<p>

"You know, you're a real bastard, Boss. Normal people don't fuck over people they have feelings for like that, you know?" Ouch. Perhaps William deserved that. He should have explained the situation better. But how could he explain to Ronald that he'd been threatened and then got drunk only to end up in Grell's bed later on? He hadn't really meant to end up at Grell's place anyway, but it was the only person he knew would be willing to comfort him, no matter how angry they were at each other. I mean don't you have any regrets about what you did? You should be beaten to a pulp for that!"

"I believe the bruise on my face and my arm in a sling is evident enough that I've been punished already, Knox. Do I regret what what I did? More than you would believe. But what I regret more is the fact that I couldn't help you..." Ronald slammed the book shut and stared at him, absolutely puzzled. What in the world- "I should have acted sooner. Maybe then that demon wouldn't have his claws in you as far...I failed, Ronald, and I hope you can forgive me..." Ronald continued to stare at him, only moving when his glasses slid too far down his nose and hit the floor.

"B-boss? What are you talking about?" William looked up, confused. How did Ronald not know what he was talking about? Not unless that demon had been changing his strategy...he sighed and looked the blond over quietly, narrowing his eyes when he saw something peeking out from under his collar. Ronald cocked his head to the side and waved in Williams direction. "Boss? Are you alright? Are you hurting?" William looked up and cringed slightly, the pain in his arm almost exploding.

"...? Y-yeah, I'll be fine. Now back to you, Knox,"

"Why can't you just call me Ronald?"

"I'm sorry?"

"You always call me Knox, but never Ronald...Why are you acting all concerned if you can't even call me by my first name?" William opened his mouth then shut it again, staring at the chip in his desk. How could he apologise to Ronald and loosen the grip that filthy demon had on him? He honestly was lost for an idea. "Could you...help me get away from what's-his-name? It scares me, I'm afraid to sleep or be alone...I don't know what it is but now its like he's in my head! Always mocking and saying this or that and-" He froze dead to the spot and shuddered, clenching his eyes shut as the demon appeared behind him and slid his fingers through his hair. William stared at him and furrowed his eyebrows, going wide eyed when he saw Sebastian appear properly behind the blond and slide his hands all over his body.

"Quite the fighter isn't he, Spears? I can see why you like him. Now that you have solid proof, I suggest trying something clever now...just watch Knoxie, you'll have proof that this fool could never give you what you need..." he purred into Ronald's ear and slid a hand across the bitemark on his neck, makng him groan.

"W-william~..." Both men stared at the blond before a smirk crossed William's face, pointing his scythe at Sebastian. He could be wrong but at this point he'd take anything he could get. Besides, they hadn't even begun to start discussing their issues. Sebastian faltered a little and loosened his grip slightly, though not enough to let him escape.

"Hands off of my subordinate, demon. Unless of course you do have a death wish..." Sebastian just stared at him, slightly unnerved by William's smirk. He brandished his scythe and pointed it in the demon's direction, quirking an eyebrow. "Go on demon. Step away from my reaper,"

"YOUR reaper? My my William, aren't we possessive? Perhaps you should let you pretty little junior make that decision, hmm?" His eyes flashed as he held Ronald tighter, making him cry out and turning him around. He smirked at William before pulling the blond into heated kiss, causing William to stare flaming daggers at them and grip his scythe hard enough to turn his knuckles white. Ronald whimpered into the kiss and glanced back at William as best he could, reaching a hand out before Sebastian pushed him away. "Now choose, reaper! Do it before your precious boss loses his mind." Ronald ran a hand through his hair and looked between the two. William raised an eyebrow and set his scythe down, adjusting the sling as he waited for an answer. "Didn't you h-"

"I heard you fine. Now leave me alone, please. Come near me again and I'll turn you into dog food, got it?" He glared at the demon before swaying a little and collapsing, slamming his head into Will's desk on the way down. William looked back at Sebastian and his smirk returned, picking the scythe back up.

"Well there you have it, demon. Now get out of my office before I end you, understood?" Sebastian was dumbstruck and simply continued to stare like an idiot. William snarled at him and extended his scythe, grazing the demons arm. "OUT!"

"Tch...Fine. But don't think this is the last you'll see of me, Spears," He vanished before William could attack him again, instead hitting the wall. He shook his head and set down the scythe, leaning over his desk and glancing at Ronald. The blond had hit his head pretty hard when he fainted, probably had a mild concussion aside from the small amount of bleeding. He made his way around the desk and pulled him up with his good arm.

"God Knox, you may not look it but you're terribly heavy," he sighed and dropped the blond gracelessly in a chair, opening the door and looking out into the office. "Hey, you! Gome here! I need you to give me a hand!" Francis looked up and cocked his head to the side, standing and hurrying over.

"Mr. Spears, what's wrong?"

* * *

><p>"So let me get this straight...Eric Slingby, THE Mr. Slingby, playboy extraordinaire and you, Alan the bookworm are an item?" Thomas was so shocked that he hit his head on the table while searching for a dropped screw. "You've been touting this homophobia thing since before we entered the academy, Al. What changed your mind?" He finally found the screw and dropped it by his spare glasses, sitting up properly.<p>

"How di-what? That's not the point! And...I don't know entirely, there's just something about him, Tom, I can't explain it..." Thomas raised an eyebrow and grabbed a trainee's sleeve as they passed by. "I guess...with Mr. Slingby it's ok, with anyone else the thought of being with another man is just disturbing and wrong but then I think of Eric and...and it seems right,"

"So let me get this straight. You're not gay, right?" Alan glared at him which was all the answer he needed. "Right, sorry. You aren't gay and you find the thought of being with another man to be repulsive, but...Mr. Slingby is the exception, how exactly?" Alan nodded quietly and watched as thomas paced quietly, perking up when a trainee passed by, "Where do you think you're going, Meyer?" The poor kid looked absolutely terrified, much like they'd been when they first started out. The kid was so startled that he dropped the box he was holding, sending a whole mass of lenses crashing to the floor. "You idiot!"

"S-sorry, Mr. Barker! It was an accident, honest! Please don't tell Mr. Anderson, he'll send me back to the academy if I mess up again!" Alan raised an eyebrow and Watched Thomas drag the kid to his feet and slap him hard.

"Get a hold of yourself! You want to work in here so bad then you better start acting like it. One more mess up and I'll kill you before Mr. Anderson has a chance to fill out the demotion papers, got it?" The kid nodded and dashed off to replace the broken lenses, leaving him to rub his temples. "Geez, why did he pick glasses? He's so disorganised and he screws up every day and he cries if someone even tries to tell him how to improve...grab that broom, over there, huh?" Alan shook his head and started sweeping up the glass for his friend, trying hard not to laugh. "The hell is so funny?"

"You, Tom. You used to be just like him, I bet it took him all day to figure out how to get here too, huh?"

How did-?"

"Because, it took you three days to figure out how to get here, remember? And he's probably destroyed about thirty frames while trying to repair them, huh? You forget Tommy...you used to be just as bad as him during your first few months, remember?" Thomas pulled off his oversized oval frames and sighed, rubbing his eyes. "We're turning into our mentors it seems, remember when Eric sudden;y changed around his attitude? A lot of that was from the one of the guys in collections refreshing his memory on how he was he first graduated. So give him a break huh?"

"But Alan...I never destroyed a whole box of lenses or spilled my coffee onto one of the machines or shredded one of the eye charts. I was a little bit more precise than that," The trainee took another route to get the replacement lenses to their destination, looking at the ground when Thomas looked up. "...Guess I really hurt his feelings, huh?"

"Seems like it..." Both brunettes watched the trainee bump into a few others, finally getting the box to Mr. Anderson's work area. "At least here though you don't risk a terminal illness..."

"No. Just dust allergies, and stop talking like that, huh? You're going to have a very long long life, Allie! You can be morbid when you hit your death bed,"

"That might not be too far off, these attacks have been getting worse and worse, Tom...at this rate I won't be able to even file a report without my chest burning..."

"Now now, Alan, don't get that negative! Isn't Eric doing anything to help? Still fixing you those gourmet dinners you always rave about?" Alan was about to say something when he felt a pair of hands on his shoulders.

"How do you know, Barker? Anytime I've invited you over, we never got to it..." Both Thomas and Alan blushed and looked up at Eric. The blond smirked and watched the two as well as the trainee from earlier bump into the supervisor from the death scythe department. "New recruit?" The glare from beneath Thomas's brown and bright red bangs was all the answer he needed.

"Don't even get me started...He's driving me up a wall, it's so annoying! I mean, he can't operate the machines without breaking them, he destroyed a whole box of lenses,"

"Maybe he should catch a—OW! Alan, that wasn't nice!"

"You still weren't nice to me even after I got sick..."

"I was after a while...That's not the point though. Thomas, Don't go so hard on him just because he's new. You probably screwed up just as much when you were starting out, huh? You don't want to scare him away, do you? That's our department's job, not yours," Eric leaned down and laid his head on Alan's shoulder. He did have a point, typically the collections department went through officers faster than a prostitute went through clients. Whether it was, Grell, the overtime, the general insanity, whatever reason there was, new officers made it a habit to transfer within the month if they lasted that long. Most usually had a breakdown or were scared off in under a week like Thomas had been in his third year. The collections department still terrified him beyond recognition, more so because of the exuberant redhead and that noisy...whatever it was. He sighed and pulled off his glasses, staring down at the table. "Don't stress so much, kid. He'll get into the swing of things properly. I mean none of us were perfect when we started out. I mean Alan still can't collect a soul without running for help,"

"Oi! I've been getting better! At least now I can keep it from trying to kill me," He pouted and glanced down at the table, grabbing the screw drivers and sorting them out by size and colour, even going so far as to divide them up by length as well. He didn't even pay attention to the other two reapers watching him until Thomas put a hand over his.

"Al...I appreciate that you want my work space to be organised but please...don't screw up my system,"

"What system? It's completely disorganised! How do y-" He shut up instantly when Eric turned his head and kissed him. Thomas shook his head and set it down on the table, chuckling softly. The other two glared at him and he just continued to giggle. "Tom, you need to stop hanging around Undertaker..."

"No I d—AHH! Meyer what are you thinking?" He stood up quickly and stared at the trainee crawling under the table, shaking slightly. He stared quietly and crawled out as Thomas backed away, almost hitting a wall and pointing a screwdriver at him. "Y-you...you...you...What is wrong with you?" Eric raised an eyebrow and stared silently, leaning down by Alan to ask what was up with him.

"I-I'm sorry, Mr. Barker! It won't happen again! I swear!" He ran a hand through his hair and clinged to the box of frames for dear life, swallowing hard before running off.

"Damn, Barker. He's just a kid, cut him a break, huh?" He was still standing against the wall, shaking heavily and pointing the screwdriver in random directions. Eric sighed and went over to him, taking the screwdriver and guiding him back to his chair. "Just relax, and go talk to someone about getting into some type of therapy. You can't function like this, you know? Maybe just going to the Undertaker even once a week. Whatever you can do to become less jumpy, alright?" Alan watched and smiled a little, running a hand through his hair while the blond calmed him down. Thomas sniffed a bit and looked up at them, nodding as Eric patted his shoulders gently and went back over to Alan, motioning for them to head out. "Back to work, kids. Let's go,"

* * *

><p>"<em>Eriiiiiic~! Can I talk to you?" Undertaker popped up behind him and giggled, ruffling his hair asthe brunette jumped. He looked up and stared at the retired reaper and blinked, a little confused as to what he was doing there.<em>

"_What do you want, Boss? I'm very busy right now and don't exa-"_

"_OOOOOoooohhhhh yes~, very busy...doodling is it? And a certain pupil of yours too~!" Eric covered up the picture quickly and stared at the old man. It wasn't any of his business how Eric looked after the kid, now was it? It'd only been a year and a half since he started out and so far hadn't even come close to being up to scratch. Of course he hd to factor in the three months that the kid had sent in the infirmary. Since then he'd be fine though, no signs of...what was it again? _

"_He's not even sick! I swear the kid's just a big gullbreak waiting to happen, I swear he goes down to the infirmary once a month, or he's wasting time in the glasses department and then he just reads or something when we're out doing collections! I mean, he's hardly got what it takes to be in this department! What the hell am I gonna do with him?"_

"_Well for one, you could stop trying to flirt with me all the time. It's wretched and disgusting," Alan stood in the doorway with his arms crossed, glaring at the older reaper. Eric glanced around for the undertaker and furrowed his eyebrows when he'd vanished. "Mr. Slingby, I understand that you don't like me but that doesn't mean you have to make my life a living hell. Whatever you do in your spare time is what you do, but don't come around trying to get me to go along with your perversions," He grabbed a few files and his scythe before stepping back into the doorway. Eric opened his mouth to protest but the younger brunette had already left the office, settling in at his usual desk instead._

"_Jeez kid, if you only knew..."_

"_So you DO like him, huh? You know Eric-dear, if you really want to get this partnership to work out well then you might want to try being nicer to him...?" Eric looked back at his desk and jumped a little when he saw the Undertaker stretched out on it, giggling. "I mean, why are you so hard on him anyway? He is only a baby still..."_

"_He's got potential, boss. I mean a lot of potential, he could be really great...how else though am I to bring that out of him if I don't give him a little shove?" The old man shook his head and perked up, tangling his fingers through Eric's hair. _

"_I wonder...maybe you're treating him this way because...that's how you were treated? I mean, your mentor wasn't really the nicest of reapers now was he? If memory serves me right, you weren't exactly the best when you were young either. Now look at you, one of the best in London! Now think about this, dearie...back in the day you could barely look at a cinematic record without getting nervous. Perhaps you should think about how you got over your troubles, hmm? Being tough doesn't work on everybody..." Eric stared at him silently and leaned back, looking out towards the office. "Why don't you go talk to him dear? Now I must be off~!" the old man giggled and ruffled the brunettes hair before vanishing again. _

"_I guess..." Eric pushed up his glasses and stood quickly, cringing a little with the sudden change of lighting. He swallowed hard and straightened out his hair, stopping in front of Alan's desk and smirking down at him. "Hey...mind if we talk?"_


	16. Rubbish

**A/N: **Sorry it took a while to update again~! I got a touch of writers block and I don't much like the title of this chapter, but it seemed to suit it pretty ok. Hoping to get a little closer to making things around Eric and Alan a bit darker. Eric is starting to get desperate and Alan is still getting worse and worse. Your reviews have been very lovely and I appreciate every last one of them~! Oh yes and I want to clarify there is a time skip here. Between chapters fifteen and sixteen is a gap of a year and a half, just to let y'all know.

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><p>"Oi, Red! Boss wants to know why you ain't made any progress on that investigation of yours?" Francis pounded on the door frame of Grell's office, none too thrilled about having to wander around the red room. "Seriously, if ya don't got a progress report, the boss'll have both my head and yers,"<p>

"Shut up! Here's your stupid reports, now go away~!" Francis stepped back as Grell shoved the papers into his arms and slammed the door in his face. Francis sighed and started organising them the best he could. Alan cocked his head when he saw Francis struggling and dashed over to help him.

"My god, Francis, what on earth is this mess?"

"Sutcliff. Mr. Spears wanted an updated progress report on that thing he's investigating and he just...threw all of this at me! Didn't even bother to say which is which," He sighed and dumped them onto an empty desk, sifting through them with Alan. There was a whole mess of other things aside from the reports which were poorly done and only had the bare minimum filled out. "Jeez, how does he still have a job? The man hardly does any paperwork..." He sighed and pulled a love letter out of the mess, giggling a little.

"Francis, that's rude. Mr. Sutcliff is still very emotional about his break-up with Mr. Spears," Alan pushed up his glasses and sifted through again, finding a few of the progress reports and sighing. "My my, how long has he been on this investigation? There's at least six here! You're only supposed to fill out one every six weeks...how long has he been on this case exactly?" He sighed and cringed when he found another love letter, crumbling it up and quickly throwing it to the side. "...Disgusting..."

"Hey! Watch where you throw these things, huh?" Both looked behind and saw Ronald smiling at them, opening the paper with an eyebrow raised. "Wow, I guess Grell is still after the boss, huh?" He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, folding the paper up and walking off to William's office.

"Oh Ronald!" He stopped and turned to see Alan hurrying after him. "If you're going to see Mr. Spears then take these with you?" He handed over the progress reports pulled out from the pile , smiling a little. "I know it's none of my business but...you two aren't..."

"I wish, but he' so damn hard to figure out...Like one second, he's g-"

"Ah! Don't tell me! I don't want to know what sort of horrible things you two do! Just take those to Mr. Spears!" Ronald blinked as Alan shoved the papers into his arms and hurried off, blushing madly.

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><p>"<em>Mr. Slingby...why on earth are you carrying a ring of passkeys?" Alan pointed to a small ring loaded with a mass of skeleton keys, some very plain and others extremely elaborate. He had to do something to pay the older reaper back for letting him rest there until he found his own flat. He'd moved out of his old flat because of the dirt and shabbiness but had nowhere else to go. Luckily, Eric still held true to his offer that the younger brunette could stay with him until he found a nice place. Now if only it wasn't such a mess.<em>

"_Hm? Oh, that. They're good luck charms, the really old rusted one on there was filched off of the first demon I dealt with. Although...that's a story for another time," He shook his hair out of his eyes and went back to the kitchen, testing something or other and cringing. "Ugh, too much salt..." Alan blinked and continued looking through the keyring, examining each one like it was a specimen under a microscope._

"_Gotta be at least a hundred keys here..." he stopped when he came to a gold key with a very fancy skull at the top. He glanced to the kitchen for a moment before slipping it off of the ring and examining it properly. It was old for sure, but very well taken care of. The gold was still shining like new, the skull pattern at the top was made up of multiple swirls and twists and turns. There were so many patterns that it was impossible to find an opening on it, except at the top for it to slip onto a ring. That would explain why it was a little heavy then, wouldn't it? He turned it over and saw the same amount of swirls and flourishes, following them down onto a small bit of engraving all down the shaft. He turned It over again and noticed something flash on the front of the bit. He shifted it away from the light and noticed two small rubies in the eye sockets. How did he miss those the first time he looked at it? He twirled it around in his hands again and jumped a little when eric whistled right by his ear. _

"_Didn't you hear me, Humphries? I've been talking to you for the last minute or so!" Alan stared at him and had to avoid laughing when he saw Eric's hair was a complete mess from ruffling and pulling at it so much. Was he having that much trouble with cooking?_

"_I...no...sorry. What had you said?" He looked away and set the key next to the rest, rubbing his arms a little._

"_I was telling you that if you wanted that gold key so much, then you can have it. Just take very good care of it, huh?" He grabbed the key and turned it around a few times, offering it to the younger man. "It belonged to a priest in the fourteenth century, of course it didn't look like this at that time. He offered his soul to a demon in exchange for saving the people of his village from the plague. Well the demon had no hand in saving the village but he still demanded that his soul be handed over. When he realised what he had done, he panicked, fled the village, and tried like hell to hide from what he'd done. He hid for as long as possible, hiding away in far off farm town or maybe a month before he was caught. Now here's where it gets a bit strange Humphries, so pay attention. When he ran, the priest started praying, every waking moment was spent begging forgiveness from God. He begged for his family to forgive him, the demon to stop chasing him, to be absolved from making a deal with the devil. He even prayed when he slept, he was so desperate. Well when the demon finally found him and tried to take his soul...this warm bright light engulfed them. It was bright enough to light the night sky and alarm the villagers, they were far too terrified to come near the barn that the priest was hiding in." He stopped for a moment and tossed it up in the air, smirking a little when Alan snatched and gave the older brunette a slightly annoyed look._

"_Let me guess, this key contains the priest's soul, right? Don't be ridiculous, Mr. Slingby!" _

"_Don't be so sceptical, it's a true story. The morning after the demon came for the priest, the son of one of the farmers went to the barn to find what had created the light. He didn't find anything at all, everything in the barn had been vaporised, except for this key. It was laying it the middle of the barn, and it was burning hot. Well the kid wrapped it up and took it to show his family and the other villagers. For the longest time they couldn't figure out where it had come from, until they saw what was engraved on the bit. Go on, take a look for yourself," Alan raised an eyebrow but held it up close, shifting to get better light and blinking. _

"_There's nothing special, just a tiny crucifix..." He blinked and stared at the older man, glancing at it once more then back to Eric. "You're telling me that.."_

"_Yep. The priest had dropped his lucky key and the demon stepped on it when he made a grab for the man. When that light consumed them it destroyed everything else in that barn, and the priest and demon were sealed inside that key that is laying in your hand. To this day, they remain in there, the priest still begging for absolution from God and the demon still trying to take his soul. There's another part to the story that says if you hold it close to your ear, you can still hear their struggle. Personally though, I've always thought that bit was pure rubbish bu-"_

"_But you believe that the souls of a priest and a demon are trapped inside of a passkey? What sort of logic is that?" He shook his head and stared down for a moment, glancing back up to see Eric with that smirk still plastered on his face. As much as he wanted to call him out for telling a horrible ghost story, he couldn't help but see if it was true. He swallowed a bit as Eric went back to cooking and put it rigt next to his ear, listening hard for some sort of sound. He furrowed his eyebrows when he only heard silence and sighed, slipping it into his pocket. He'd have to show this to Thomas later and see what he thought._

"_so, are you going to tell me about the other hundred or so keys you've got on here?" Eric looked over and adjusted his glasses. _

"_What's to tell? The others aren't really anything special, just ones I've found in graveyards or churches or taken off of dead and injured demons. They don't really have much of a backstory like that gold one does though," Alan blinked and looked at the ring before setting it back down, shaking his head and returning to cleaning the older man's sitting room. _

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><p>"You still carry that thing around, dear? I figured you had passed it off as some fancy trinket, not turned it into a bracelet," Alan looked over then down to his wrist. He'd found a gold chain a few years later and kept it wrapped around his wrist at all times.<p>

"It's unique. Gives me some sense of individuality at the Dispatch. Besides, wearing it helps me to think of you if we get split up for collections," He pulled his wrist away from Eric and laid his head on his chest, looking upwards. "Though I've never heard anything coming from it. No noises or anything, then again I still think you're pulling my leg about a demon and priest being trapped inside of it," The blond pouted and tilted his chin up.

"Oh Alan, I'm surprised at you. Do you really think I'd tell you a story like that just for a prank?"

"Well I asked Thomas about it the next day and he said he'd never heard any sort of story like that. And he knows all manner of insane tales like that,"

"Then Thomas hasn't talked to the right people...now get some rest, Allie. We've got a LONG day tomorrow," He shook his hair out of his eyes and pulled the brunette into a sweet kiss before wrapping his arms around him and turning out the light.

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><p>Alan curled up next to one of the pillows, turned away from Eric. The blond cracked an eye open and glanced over, smiling a bit before slowly crawling out of bed and slipping his glasses on. He swallowed and slipped over to his wardrobe, grabbing something warmer than his pajamas before slipping out of the room. He sighed as he got dressed and grabbed what he thought was his scythe, only realising it was Alan's when he pulled his boots on.<p>

"Damn it, Slingby...what would your mentor say...? No wait, nevermind..." He shuddered at the thought of his mentor and set the staff back quickly, grabbing his saw and his lucky key ring before hurrying out and into London. The occasional thoughts of his mentor made him pause and cringe. What would that crazy old bugger say about him now? What would he say about Alan? Better yet...

"What would he say if he knew what I was doing...?" He sighed and looked out from the rooftop again, keeping an eye out for someone who could meet what he needed. He swallowed hard and stood as a young girl came running down the alley, crying and bumping into everything. "What the...?" She couldn't be more than thirteen, must have been abandoned. He narrowed his eyes as he watched her, curling up against the corner of the alley and crying, begging to no one in particular for forgiveness.

"Momma...Please Momma...forgive me for running away...! I'm so sorry for everything..." The blond shook his head as she trailed off, hopping off the roof and in front of her. She stopped rambling and stared at him, shaking like a leaf. "W-who are you? Are you...with him? He's going to kill me! Please! Please save me, I'm begging you!" She began sobbing again and clinged to Eric's legs, begging through her sobs. The reaper shook his head and nudged her off of him, kneeling down to her level.

"Relax Miss...I can help you, but it might hurt. Just calm down and close your eyes, huh?" She swallowed hard and wiped her eyes, staring at him silently. "Trust me, miss. I can help you..."

"W-will you take me back to my Momma? I'm terribly sorry for running away, I hadn't meant to! I was just so in love with that gardner and he said we'd be together forever until...Mister please!" He looked out towards the alley and shuddered, glancing back to the girl. He couldn't do this, this girl was too young, too terrified, far too innocent...He looked back when she started coughing heavily, a few drops of blood landing on her hand. She grabbed her chest and stared up at him, gasping for air. There really was no way he could do this, she was...she was just like Alan. Innocent and dying, crying out in the darkness, grasping at straws for hoe that kept falling further and further away. He heard the rev of something off in the distance, it had to be a death scythe, one of the night workers for sure. She coughed and gasped again and Eric stood straight up, lifting his saw.

"Please forgive me, Alan..." He clenched his eyes shut and brought the scythe down against her, stepping back when she went limp and swallowing hard, leaning against the grimy bricks. "God forgive me..."

"I think you've fallen a little too far for Him to help you, reaper. Not even the Devil himself would accept you," The blond looked up and around for the source of the voice, holding his saw up and ready to attack at any point.

"Who said that? Where are you? Come on, show yourself!" He glanced back at the girl and ran out of the alley, still looking in every direction for the source of the voice.

"You're getting desperate aren't you? You know it's coming, don't you? Everyone can see it...your precious Alan is going to die soon. You won't collect the souls in time, reaper. Don't deny it, accept it and let him pass..."

"Don't you dare say his name. I'll do anything I can to save him! I'll show you. I'll do anything it takes to save him!" He glared and stopped when a demon whistled from the rooftops, kneeling to stare right at him.

"Don't delude yourself, Eric Slingby. You waited too long to start saving him. Nobody can collect 1000 souls in five years. No matter how good they are. You'll go mad with guilt before then," The demon had a point there, he'd been losing sleep for the past year, waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. Crying out in his sleep, begging to someone, anyone to stop the screaming. Nightmares of blood and terror, the look on Alan's face if he knew what he'd been doing, the faces of people he'd murdered all to save one person.

"You make one more comment about what I'm doing and I will end you! Do you understand me? You don't know the first thing about me, or him, or anyone that we care about! I'll fight you, you hear me?" He dashed up onto the rooftop and looked around, panting and half-blind with fury. He was gone, the damned coward was gone! "Where are you, you bastard?" He snarled and started shaking, stopping when he saw the girl he'd just killed staring at him.

"You lied to me, Mister...you said you'd save me...why did you lie to me? I trusted you with my life, Mr. Slingby!" He stared at the hallucination and went wide eyed when it turned from the girl to Alan, stepping back as the apparition came toward him, still asking why. He swallowed hard and stepped away from it, slowly backing up until he hit the edge of the building, looking down quickly and dropping his scythe over the edge, slipping a little himself.

"Please! I didn't mean anything wrong by it! I never wanted it to be like this...I just wanted to save him...I can't lose him now...I love him!" He blinked when the apparition vanished and collapsed on the roof, landing on his hands and knees, panting and sobbing. "Please forgive me..."


	17. Heavy

**A/N: **It's been taking a while to get these chapters churned out and I really apologise. For the record if you ask why Grell was teasing Ronnie...well spoilers~! And Alan was meant to be having a really nasty attack but I don't quite know if that came across. And I will eventually bring back Tommy-bug~! Your reviews have been lovely and I really appreciate them~! Thank you so much ^_^

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><p>"Eric? Are you alright? Eric? Eric!" Alan sighed and pulled the blond off the sofa, jolting him awake when he hit the floor.<p>

"...Huh? What happened? Where am I? Where is that spineless bottom-feeder?" He sat up and looked around with a wild look in his eyes, barely registering that Alan was there until he whacked him hard in the leg. The brunette's cry of pain and stumbling into a bookshelf brought Eric out of his daze, staring at him. He swallowed hard and ran a hand through his hair, standing up slowly and looking over at Alan. "I'm sorry, Allie. Just had one hell of a nightmare and...it was just really bad. Sorry," He sighed and ran a hand through his hair slowly, looking up as Alan inched back to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Is that why you were sleeping out here? Eric, if you were having a nightmare, you could have woke me up, I could have helped you out maybe?"

"How? I mean...sorry. I'm fine now, honest! No worries!" He stood up and pulled Alan with him, draping an arm over his shoulder and leading him back to the bedroom. "We should probably get ready then, wouldn't want to be l-"

"You should get ready, darling. I'm off today and if you don't hurry you'll be ten minutes late. Now hop to, Slingby!" Eric stared at him then stood up quickly, digging through his wardrobe for shoes and a tie. Leave it to Eric to keep all but his suits in a disorganised mess. "Honestly, I'm going to organise this thing while you're out. Your ties need to be better taken care of!" Eric looked up at him for a moment before pulling him down to his level.

"You're acting like William again, Allie...thought we had cured you of that..." Alan narrowed his eyes and stood back up, dragging the older reaper along with him. "What? You always think it's funny anymore, why the serious expression?"

"Because I want you to be at your best. It's no good if the best reaper in London is slugging around half asleep, now is it? Now get dressed, I'll stop by later on, huh?" He winked and nuzzled their noses together, shoving him a little before hurrying out of the room. Eric shook his head and glanced down at his clothes, trying not to think of what happened last night.

"_You really think your dear little Allie will want to stay with you if he finds out? Don't be ridiculous, Slingby. No one could love a filthy murderer like you!" Eric stared at the demon for a long moment, barely noticing a young girl staring at him._

"_Don't you DARE call him that! What gives you the right to judge how other people will think anyway?" He narrowed his eyes at the smirking demon, dragging his saw carelessly along the girls body and making her cry out before the two could continue. He stared over at the girl and took a step back, swallowing hard when he saw the jagged cut and massive pool of blood forming. "Oh my god...I never even saw her!" He pulled the girl up and over his shoulder quickly, cringin as the blood began to soak through his clothing. _

"_My my, Slingby. Now you're desperate and reckless, hmm? Such a shame your poor lover will meet the same fate as this poor girl here..." He tensed as the demon tilted the dead girls chin up, smirking. "Just think, one day you'll be carrying his lifeless body to the grave just as you are with hers..." Eric snarled and shoved him away. _

"_Don't come near me again. Just you wait, I'll show that I can save him! I have to, I need to!"_

"_Rubbish, you're selfish and that's all there is to it. You claim to do it out of love but you just want to keep your plaything around, you're too afraid of being alone, Slingby. Seventy years to win his heart...nobody has that manner of patience!" Eric dropped the body and pointed his saw right at the demon's throat. _

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><p>"ooooohhhhh~ it's a dream come true~! Finally you've come to me instead of that stick in the mud, Alan!"<p>

"Shut up, Sutcliff. There is not enough alcohol in the world to me that drunk or you that lucky. Now get off of me!" he jerked his arm away and glared at the redhead, holding his saw up when he tried to come closer again. "Don't you dare touch me again, Sutcliff. Unless you want to be shredded, understood?" Grell just stared and adjusted his coat, swallowing a bit.

"I was only joking around, Eric. You know that my heart belongs to S-"

"Say it I'll kill you before Slingby can even blink. Now get to work," Both reapers jumped and stared at Ronald and William, grabbing their death lists and scythes before they got into any real trouble. They left quickly before William could scold them anymore and hurried of into London.

"Sutcliff, what's the deal with Will and Ronald? Are they together or aren't they?" Grell looked over and scowled a bit, brandishing his scythe in Eric's face. "What? It's like hot and cold with those two, one second they're flirting like horny teenagers and the next they're like...I can't even explain it,"

"What goes on between Will and Ronald is their own business. Much as I've tried, he's so cold and refuses to say anything~!" The redhead twirled around and started moaning and bitching over-dramatically, hardly paying attention to the other reaper anymore.

"Ugh...I shouldn't have asked," He shook his head and glanced over to his right shoulder, only then realising there was a small bit of dried blood on his skin still. Of course, He'd been in too much of a hurry and didn't remember getting in a shower last night, only that he threw his clothes into the fire before collapsing. He straightened up from kneeling on the roof, glaring down at the opposite side of the street at who he thought was the demon that had been stalking him lately. The appearance was almost dead on. Black hair, extremely bright green eyes, that damned smirk. He was even positive that if he got close enough, he could see the contract mark behind his ear. "That bastard..."

"On the job today, reaper?" Grell looked over at the demon with Eric and blinked, pushing up his glasses. Was a demon talking to Eric? The man who though they were all the scum of the earth? What the hell was going on? They both stepped back when he suddenly appeared in front of them. He smirked and looked over at Grell for a moment, winking. "I can see why that idiot Sebas likes you...such a pretty little kitten you are, Red...Shame I was there first..."

"Ooooohhhh~! How sweet you are to a lady~! What's y-"

"Shut it, Sutcliff! This bastard is not to be messed with. Not even talked to, he's a spinless, soulless, bottom-feeding rat with no regard for anyone but himself." He growled at the demon and pointed his saw at him. "The hell are you standing there for?" Grell was far too into his twirling and reciting horrible romantic poetry to the demon to even care. Eric sighed and glared at him, jagged edge against the mark behind his ear.

"Won't you tell us your name, handsome~?" Grell stopped spinning and pressed right up against the demon, sliding a finger down his chest. He sneered a bit and pushed the redhead away, making him pout. "How could you~? Shoving a lady like that! What is wrong with you?"

"Ree..." Both reapers stared at him in utter shock, silent except for the motor of Grell's chainsaw.

"Don't tell me that's your name. It can't be," He narrowed his eyes and went to strike, only to fall and hit the roof hard after the demon disappeared. "Damn...Come on, Sutcliff. We have work to do," He stood quickly and pulled out his death list, glancing through it before dashing off along the rooftops. Grell pouted a little and hurried of after him.

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><p>Alan sighed and tossed himself onto the sofa, ruffling his hair in relief. He'd spent his day off cleaning Eric's flat from top to bottom and was finally finished. Now he could curl up in front of the fire with a book while he waited for the older man to get home. He stretched and pushed his hair out of his eyes, not ready to get up and get the fire going just yet. He was tired and felt a little heavy, not too thrilled about having to get up again. After a moment, he sat up and looked around the room, sliding onto the floor and crawling over to the fireplace.<p>

"All this hard work just to get cozy...So exhausting..." He sniffed a bit and rubbed his chest, wincing a little with the bit of twinging. Couldn't be anything bad though, could it? He wasn't due to have an attack any time soon...then again, he could never really calculate for certain when they would come, now could he? He sniffed a bit and tossed in a few things, grabbing a few matches from the mantle piece and getting back to the hearth. He tilted his head to the side and shivered a little from another twinge, holding the matchbook tight. "Can't be...Don't worry, Alan. Just relax, deep breaths..." He swallowed hard and struck another match, dropping it onto the small flames before being knocked forward a bit by a horrible stabbing pain in his chest. "AAH!"

He cringed and hugged his chest tight, digging his nails in and crying out, reaching a hand out to grasp for Eric, thinking he'd appear by magic. He tried sitting up again but could hardly move from the pain, feeling another stab close to his heart, clinging to his chest and whimpering. He clenched his eyes shut and managed to sit up at least a fraction, doubling over immediately and coughing hard. He went wide eyed and pulled his hand away, feeling another painful stab at the sight of a few blood droplets. He swallowed hard and started coughing again, curling up in a ball and screaming out in pain. He opened his eyes again for a moment and cringed, feeling the edges of his vision start to black out.

"E-eric..." He looked up for a moment and coughed again. He wasn't going to die was he? He couldn't, not yet! Not like this! He wanted to go peacefully in Eric's arms, not curled alone on the cold floor while thrashing like a fish. He gasped and tried sitting up again, scooting over to the fireplace before feeling another hard stab in his chest, doubling over and letting out a choked sob before everything went black.

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><p>Ronald sighed as he made his way home, clinging tight to his bag as he walked and looked around the various cafes. They were decorated for Valentine's day and the vibe was radiating out into the streets. Couples walking around were starting to get more and more sweet. It was enough to make one vomit, really. He sighed and looked around once more before hurrying up and into his flat, tossing his bag to the side along with his jacket.<p>

"God, I can't wait for this month to be over! All this romantic crap is getting on my nerves! God, even Eric and Alan are getting more mushy," He shuddered and threw himself onto the sofa, pulling off his glasses for a moment and burying his face in one of the pillows. "No good William, shouldn't take a year and a half to simply say 'Hey Ronald, wanna go for drinks or something?' Ugh!" He sighed and perked up when he heard something from his bedroom. "The hell?" He stood slowly and stopped to grab something, anything. A nice heavy book...perfect. He grabbed it and put his hand on the doorknob, opening it quickly and looking around. "What the...?" He glanced around and lowered the book, bad idea. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, squeaking when he was suddenly pinned to the door, dropping the book.

"Awwwww Ronnie~! You're usually so quick~!" He cringed and looked away from the person holding him, glancing back only for a moment to see a small bit of light pass over long red hair. In an instant, Ronald relaxed and stared at the older reaper, smirking.

"G-grell, what are you—How the hell did you get in here, exactly?" He bit his lip and blushed when Grell pressed right up against him, properly pinning him to the door. The older reaper smirked and turned Ronald's head to look at him, pressing a soft kiss to his lips.

"Don't make any plans for Valentine's day, Ronnie-bug...I've got a big surprise for you, toodles~!" Ronald stared as Grell pranced to the window, sliding it open and climbing through it, waving at him and giving his signature pose before vanishing.


	18. Almost

**A/N: **I seriously hate writers block~! To everyone i'm sorry it took a while but now it's here~!Oooohhhh, if y'all are curious about this darling demon Ree, firstly: it's pronounced like Ray. Secondly: about his contract symbol, it's a black shattered heart with black flames at the top, and it's located behind his ear. And for the record, I have the foggiest idea how Eric will get over it once he realises he'd entered into a contract while in a daze. Um...that's it i think! THanks for the reviews~ they've been so sweet and loving! Now...on to the chapter~!

PS: If you're curious about what happened with Will and Grell and Ronald, let's just say that a Menage a Trois doesn't really work too well when one of them's a virgin~

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><p>"M-mister, you're crazy! Y-you stay far away from me, you hear?" Eric was shoved into an alley and hit the wall, cringing as she kept pelting him with rocks, garbage and anything heavy she could manage. He backed off into a darker area and she ran off once he did.<p>

"Jesus Christ..."

"Not quite." Eric almost jumped out of his skin and had the demon Ree against the wall with his saw at his throat. "Oooohhhh, what wild eyes you have, reaper. How are you enjoying your madness?" Eric simply growled at him and slammed him hard against the wall again. "I see you're angry too! Oh dear oh dear, did we have a fight with our precious little Allie~?" Eric narrowed his eyes and stepped back from him.

"He's been passed out for almost twelve hours..." Eric trailed off and looked down at the ground. He couldn't bring himself to tell a demon that he'd not been there to help Alan through one the worst attacks he's had in a very long time. He should have know something would happen, but was convinced without a doubt that he was fine that morning. "He could have died while I was gone..."

"Six months, actually." The demon smirked and began circling Eric, snatching the ring of keys from his pocket with a smirk. The blond furrowed his eyebrows and stared at him, gripping his saw tight and raising it with each turn. "Awww, what's that look for, Kitten~?" He ducked as Eric swung his saw and stumbled, looking around to see the demon had vanished.

"Damn..." He shook his head and kicked a dead rat into the front of the alley. Collasping against a wall and slumping down. "Alan...please...I'm so close..." He ran a hand through his hair and looked up at the sky, flinching when a raindrop crashed against his glasses. He a sniffed little and hung his head as rain began to pour down in torrents, soaking him in a heartbeat.

"You're gonna catch your death sitting in the pouring rain like that, Mr. Slingby..." Eric perked up a little and wiped his eyes, not that it would matter of course. He looked back at the ground as the rain suddenly stopped above him. He looked up at the source of the sudden dryness and saw Alan standing above him, bleary eyed and a little tired looking but still on his feet at least. He knelt down in front of his mentor and pushed his hair out of his eyes. "My god...Eric, you're soaked! You need to get inside before y—Eric?" He blinked and reached out hand to nudge him, shaking as hard as he could.

"Can't...need to...save Alan...six hundred..." Alan furrowed his eyebrows and dragged the sleeping blond up to his feet, holding onto him as best as he could.

"Six hundred what?"

* * *

><p>"Ronnie, I'm sorry...I really thought it would be alright..." Ronald glared at Grell from across the kitchen, putting a bottle of whiskey to his lips again. "I should have known better, Will said it wouldn't work...should have known better than to get between you two..." he took a sip of red wine and glanced around, running a hand through his hair. "Ronald, please. Say something, anything..."<p>

"Get out, Sutcliff. I know exactly what you wanted and it didn't work. Go try your tricks on some other poor soul," The blond took another swig of whiskey and opened the door for Grell, grabbing his chainsaw and handing it to him. "I can't believe you would ever think of trying something so low..." The redhead was about to say something else only to be pushed out and the door slammed in his face. "It'll be a miracle if Will still wants to talk to me..."

"Why don't you ask and find out?" He jumped and turned in an instant, staring right at William. The older reaper stood at the door to his balcony and smirked, watching the blond silently. "Well?"

"...How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to see you throw out Sutcliff. For the record, Knox...I never wanted that to happen. I wanted it to be just us...but he cut in, I couldn't get rid of him..." He walked up to the blond and took the bottle from him, setting it down. "Why don't we try this again, hmm? Without Sutcliff this time...?" Ronald open his mouth for a moment and was cut off by William pulling him into a soft, passionate kiss.

* * *

><p>"But why would he do this...? He's one of the best, why would he do something so reckless?" Thomas sighed and poked the corpses liver with a scalpel, glancing up at the Undertaker examining another body. "I mean, what if Alan finds out? He'll be crushed! He couldn't handle to know that his lover is a murderer!" The ex-reaper looked up and motioned for the brunette to come over to him, draping an arm over his shoulders.<p>

"Love does weird things to people, Kitten. Almost like an illness, you know? And for the longest time those two have been affected by the love bug. There isn't anything you can do but let it run it's course, Now, as to this favour of mine~!" Undertaker stood quickly and walked off, causing Thomas to fall onto the floor with a squeak.

"OI! Warn someone when you-" He put his hand down on something slimy and peered down, going wide eyed "EWWW! What the hell is that thing? It's all slimy and bumpy and...ugh!" He jumped up and tossed it across the room, wiping his hands quickly on his pants "Oh my god, and what's leaking out of it?" he shuddered as Undertaker picked it up and giggled.

"Still so squeaky, it's only a large intestine, Kitten. Oooohhh, a very clogged one...eeewww..." The old reaper giggled quietly as Thomas started cringing and rubbing his hands on his pants to wipe off the remaining visceral fluid. "Now now, keep your focus, Kitten. This is very important~" Thomas was about to protest when Undertaker shoved the corpse to him. "Hold him up! Need to find his measurements,"

"P-professor, please. I really don't like doing this...what's this thing you need my help with aside from—that's no way to measure a corpse! Use a regular tape measure, not your tongue! Oh my god, that is disgusting!" He shuddered and turned his head away, cringing and whimpering the whole time. He may not mind the old man's idiosyncrasies, but there were just some methods of his that were...well even he would say they were a tad creepy.

"Hmmm~? Oh right! Well...how often is it been that you go to the library, kitten?" he looked up from sliding a nail up the corpses leg and grinned. Thomas just stared at him silently, pushing the large oval frames up and stuttering. "I'll take that as a regular basis then~! Ever gone up on the top two floors~?"

"W-what...? N-no, don't be silly! Only the very high-ups and professors are allowed to go up there!" He sighed happily when the old man took the corpse from him, dropping him unceremoniously in a coffin in a far corner.

"Didn't need him eavesdropping...now you're only partially right, my dear. Professors from academies in other branches or countries are allowed. Now do you know what is kept on those top two floors?" The brunette shook his head and tossed his coat over a chair, unbuttoning his shirt a portion. It was suddenly getting rather hot in there, when did Undertaker ignite the fireplace? Thomas bit his lip and leaned against a wall, following the old man with his eyes. The longer it took for the old loon to get out his plan, the more nervous he got. "Dearie it's rather warm in here, aren't you smothering in that~?" Thomas shook his head a little and crossed his arms, looking away only for a moment. When he looked back, Undertaker had vanished completely, leaving him alone with the corpse.

"Ooohhhh, Professor please...I don't want to be alone with a body! It's starting to smell like innards in here!" he cringed and covered his mouth, slipping out of the room before he vomited. Sad to say, he didn't look where he was going and hit his foot against a coffin, barely noticing someone sneaking up behind him and pushing him into it. "OW! What did you do that f—hello? Prof—Mmph!" He squeaked when Undertaker shut them in the coffin and pulled his hair out of its neat ponytail, holding him tight. "Wh-what did you do that for? Why's it all dark? There's not a corpse in here too, is th—Nnnn~" he bit his lip and pushed the old reaper's hair out of his eyes, whimpering when he bit down hard against his neck. "Wh-what about this thing? A-about the l-library...?" the old man looked up and grinned wide.

* * *

><p>Eric stared up at the ceiling bleary eyed and shaking. He coughed heavily and wrapped his arms tight around himself. He'd been shuddering and coughing since last night and not seen a wink of Alan for a good few hours. Speaking of hours, what time was it? He sat up slowly and stared at the clock at the side, 11.30 AM. Alan had probably gone in then, left him to recover and relax. He ran a hand through his hair and started coughing heavily, falling back and shivering even more. He pulled the blankets up around him and whimpered, clinching his eyes shut. He opened the again slightly only to see Ree standing over him.<p>

"Go away..." no use, it was so weak that he might as well just stayed quiet. The demon started laughing and sat down next to him.

"Now that wouldn't be very fun, would it? Look at you, gone and caught an infection trying to save your dearest Allie. This will put you even further behind!" Eric buried his face in the pillow and muttered something, muffled by the fluff. "That wasn't very nice. You ready to ask for my help yet?" He smirked when the blond threw him a rude gesture. "I'll take that as a yes, I tell you what, kitten...I'll help you save Alan...maybe." The blond perked up a little and stared at him.

"What's the catch...?"

"If you accept my help and we save Alan then I will go away forever, never deal with another reaper again..."

"What if he dies before then...?"

"That's for me to know and your idiotic little self to find out. Do we have a deal?" Eric stared at him for a moment before he started coughing again, holding himself as each one racked his body. He collapsed back against the pillows and nodded weakly, letting out a few pained groans before another wave of coughing hit him, causing him to pass out, still shaking a little. Ree shook his head and slipped off the bed, making his way over to the night stand and pulling a silver chain from his pocket.

"I never knew reapers could be such easy victims to pneumonia..." He smirked as the chain extended and a pewter skeleton key appeared at the end. It looked exactly like the one Alan carried on him, though the head was covered in little obsidian gems with a few little rubies in the center, his little contract symbol engraved on the bit. He stared at it for a moment as the chain shortened a ittle and one of the rubies became darker. "You won't save him in time, reaper. You should have just let him die instead of falling into Hell," Eric whimpered a little in his sleep as the demon watched him silently. He set the key and chain next to him and watched it snake around the blond's neck. "I can't wait to try that tainted soul of yours..."


	19. Slipping

**A/N:** So I'd heard that there was a thought of Undertaker's real name being Grim, it sounded cool and it yeah...And Eric is slipping further and further to insanity. Thanks loads for the reviews~! Thy're so sweet and loving! I appreciate them!

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><p>Thomas sighed heavily as the stood in the center of the library, staring up to the top two floors with a shudder. Why of all places did the records have to be kept at the very top? One slip and it would be over the rails and all manner of insides would be splattered over the marble floors. He curled up around himself and squeaked when a mass of students suddenly appeared around him.<p>

"This is the library, the cinematic records are kept here in these floors. As you can see, there is free access to these records with the exception of the top two floors. These are restricted and you are to by no means attempt entering these two floors without the proper clearance! Understood?" There was a mumble amongst the students as they continued on their way. Thomas was still shivering and cringing as the mass of students vanished. He looked up as they kept walking and stared around, glancing at the others to see one of the librarians staring at him. He twitched a little and straightened up, narrowing his eyes at the girl. He adjusted the small frames and looked around once more, making his way through to the steps. He ran a had through his hair and winced little, stopping by a mirror and staring at the hot pink streaks.

"_Oooohhhhh kitten, you will look lovely once I'm done~! Pink looks so beautiful on you~!" Undertaker giggled as he set another piece of foil in the brunettes hair. Thomas looked and watched the old reaper come around and press their foreheads together. "Give it an hour and they should finally be set, now we just need to pass the time, eh kitten~?" He grinned and pulled him up and over to a coffin._

He kept walking and peeked out an open window, going wide eyed when he saw the reaper from earlier along with what looked like one of the students. He shook his hair out of his eyes and kept walking, glancing around and trying not to giggle. All he'd ever heard were rumours, never thinking ANY professor would be willing to stoop so low. He stopped by the stairs and looked out the window again, watching them silently for a few minutes. He'd been around long enough that he could pick out a few of the primary instructors, though he furrowed his eyebrows when a sudden blob of blond appeared.

"What the hell...? Is that...? E-eric and...and...wow, he's become quite bold after two years," He leaned forward a little and saw the nameless instructor press a finger to his lips. Thomas covered his mouth to stifle a squeak and backed away from the window, peering out once more to see his best friend pinned to the wall. "I guess they're making up for lost time..." he ran a hand through his hair and jumped when a hand suddenly touched his shoulder.

"Can I help you, Sir?" Thomas just stared silently and bit his lip, glancing out the window again before turning to stare right at the man. He swallowed and began to speak only to realise...he'd forgotten what he was supposed to say!

"_There's a supervisor coming from Greece, coming to grab a few cinematic records for the academy in Athens...but there's a few he won't be getting..." Thomas pushed up his glasses and stared at him, obviously confused. "Frankly kitten all they know is just that, I'm sure you wouldn't mind doing this small favour for your Fessah~?" He was about to say something when the old man bit down on his neck, making him gasp and pull his hair gently._

"...Right...I come from Greece, I need records for Athens academy! Take me to top floors, if you are pleasing to do?" Worst Greek accent ever! Why couldn't he have been allowed to fake something he was good at, perhaps an American accent or something? He had a great American accent! "If you are being so kind, I am to be going for them now," he nodded and walked away from the man, continuing on to the top floors. He swallowed hard and rubbed his chest, trying to keep his breathing under control. The sudden scare had almost set him off on a panic attack. That was all he needed to blow his cover, wasn't it? He remembered the Undertaker being very specific about keeping his anxiety under control. What was it he'd said again about keeping calm? "Let's see...happy thoughts...nice fluffy coffin with Professor Grim...hot cup of tea...oohhh and that one thing he does with his-" He stopped when felt a pair of eyes on him.

"That one thing I do with my what, kitty~?" Thomas froze and covered his mouth before he let out a quiet squeak, spinning around. "Or do you need a reminder of what it is~?" The brunette calmed down again and leaned against the railing, looking around for others before he pulled the old man close and whispered it into his ear. "Ooooohhhh~! Perhaps that might keep you calm then, hmm~?"

"I uh...b-but we're out in t-the open! W-what if s-someone catches us?" He swallowed hard and looked around again before the old man pulled him into a alcove nearby, shutting the curtain and pinning him to the wall.

"Just keep quiet and nobody will notice~"

* * *

><p>"Why are you following me? Do you get off on taunting me or something?" Eric pointed his saw at Ree and narrowed his eyes. He'd not been back on his feet more than a few days when the demon showed up, almost choking him with the chain around his neck. He scowled and tossed the demon off of him, pressing the saw into his throat. "I want you to go far, FAR away from me, understand?"<p>

"I can't do that, though...I promised to help to you save Alan...you have five months to collect 413 souls. You'll never do it without my help, see?" Ree snapped his fingers and a group of girls peeked around the corner. Eric let go of him and stood up, watching as at least thirty girls came into view. They were talking amongst themselves and staring at the two.

"What was that man doing to Mr. Takigawa?...Look at his hair...Look at those glasses...Why's that blond man holding a saw...?" Eric continued to stare before stepping back ad kicking the demon in the face, effectively shutting him up for a few hours. He looked back to the girls and motioned for them to follow him deeper into the alley.

"Relax ladies, I don't want to hurt you...I want to help you," they stopped walking and began talking among themselves again. He sighed and stared down at the ground as he took one of the girls hands, gasping and looking up at her in an instant. There was something strange about her, she seemed to be...ill? No, she wasn't ill. "Miss, tell me something...are you...pregnant?" She stared at him and began shivering, tears welling up in her eyes.

"T-that's one of...I didn't even want to..." Eric tipped her chin up and wiped the tears away.

"I can help you, I can make you forget all of your suffering..." She looked up at him with a smile and pulled him into a hug. "If you ladies would close your eyes...you won't even feel a pinch," After a moment they'd all closed their eyes and the girl leaned against the wall, looking as calm and peaceful as... "Oh god...Alan..." He looked away and ran a hand through his hair, jumping when Ree appeared behind him.

"That's who you're doing this for, isn't it? Don't you want to save him? Or do you want to continue holding him every time he gasps for breath, crying, begging as he falls further into deaths hands?" Eric perked up and looked over his shoulder, barely registering the demon raising his arm for him.

"But I can't do this, she's only a child...she was raped...I can't murder her..."

"You did it before, the girl who ran away from home, dying of a lung disease...she was expecting too, you had no problems lying to her and stealing her life for your precious Alan...remember, you're doing this because you love him,"

"But she-"

"But nothing, Eric Slingby! You want your lover so badly then you will kill all thirty of these young women in cold blood! Their issues haven't stopped you before and they won't stop you now!" Eric stared and pulled his arm away from Ree's, staring once more at the girl before clenching his eyes shut and dragging the saw across her body.

"It's for Alan...He'll understand...I'm doing this for him. Dear God, I hope he can forgive me..." He cringed and continued to drag his saw along each girls body, stopping when there was one left. She stood there silently, staring right at him. He swallowed hard and looked right into her eyes, cringing when he saw the pure terror.

"Y-you monster! You said you'd help her, not kill her! How could you murder an innocent young woman! Murderer! I'm getting the police!" She turned and ran off out of the alley, not looking back at them.

"What the hell are you doing, Reaper? You'll be found out and executed! You've spent four and a half years and barely passed half! Go get her! Kill her while you still can!" Eric stood silent and stared down at the ground, not hearing the demon or the now far off sobs of the girl that ran. Instead he knelt down by the first girl and pulled her body up into his arms. "Tch, pathetic. I'll go get her myself!" Ree glared at him before vanishing. Eric still held the girl tight and buried his face into her abdomen. He'd done it twice, now, maybe more. Cut short the life of a poor girl and her unborn child. He'd never bothered to ask the dying girl if she had been expecting. All he could see was a pure soul for Alan. He shuddered heavily and began sobbing uncontrollably into her abdomen, holding her as tight as he could to prevent the voices suddenly ringing in his ears.

"_Murderer...Monster...You lied to me...No one could love a cold blooded killer like you...Liar..."_

"Shut up..." He gasped out the words and dropped the body, collapsing on top of the others and continuing to sob, barely covering his ears to muffle them.

"_You bastard...I hate you...Not even the devil will forgive you...Your sins can never be washed away..."_

"I said shut up!" he growled and curled up in a ball, covering his ears but no luck.

"_Why did you do this, Eric?...Don't you love me?...You swore you'd never hurt anyone!...How could you lie to me?"_

"Leave me alone..." He shook his head, covered his ears, stuck in his fingers, even started screaming to attempt drowning them out but they still came, accusing, questioning, begging, condemning him to Hell. "Why won't you just go away?" He stood up and ran out of the alley, hoping that getting away from the bodies would make them stop.

* * *

><p>"Ronald, have you seen Eric? He's not been home in two days..." Alan glanced out at the pouring rain and cringed a little, hoping that wherever Eric was, he was at least safe and dry. Ronald stared at him for a moment and then shook his head, glancing out the window and running a hand through his hair. "What if something happened to him? What if he's been attacked by demons or killed? We might never find him!"<p>

"Relax Alan! I'm sure he's fine, alright? Eric's a big boy, he can handle himself perfectly well, ok?" The brunette nodded and continued to look out the window.

"He only got over that bout of pneumonia a week ago, if he gets sick again, he could die..."

"Knox! Humphries! Shouldn't you two be working?" Both junior reapers jumped and stared at William, pushing his glasses up quickly with his scythe. "Especially you, Knox. Unless you want overtime again?" Ronald shook his head and stood up, tossing his mower over his shoulder as he and Alan left the office. William watched them leave the office and glanced over to the far corner, scowling when a certain red haired reaper appeared.

"Ooooohhhhh finally all alone, dear William~! I tell you what, before we go collect our souls, perhaps we could—OW! WILL~!" William simply stared at the redhead and brought the pole down hard on his skull again.

"Attempt to seduce me one more time, Sutcliff and I will murder you. Clear? I've told you time and again that I have no interest in you. Besides, what would Ronald say if he knew his favourite mentor was trying to steal his lover?" He smirked and shoved Grell off the desk before leaving the office himself. Grell stood quickly and stared after him, grumbling quietly.

* * *

><p>"Make them stop..."<p>

"I can't,"

"Then take me home. I miss Alan, I need him...he's probably wasting away without me there to care for him..."

"What? So you can go home and confess? I told you Slingby, he'll find out anyway and he'll leave. It's impossible to love a murderer," Eric stared at him and snarled, picking up his saw and charging at him. "You really want to kill me? That chain will only get shorter and shorter! The only way you can stop it is to cure him! Save him!" Eric kept glaring at him and pointing the saw at him again. "You have no choice! Whether you save him or not, the voices will remain. The guilt will always hang over you like a shadow. Even if you give him that life, it will drive you crazy, they will haunt you! You will always be a murderer...And nobody will love you. Once Alan knows what you did, he won't stay there by you, nobody will. The only one who will stay there by you will be me. I'll be there, and I will enjoy that twisted, black soul of yours to the fullest. Got it, Reaper?" Eric just stared at him and shuddered, watching the demon walk away to a pool of water.

"_Every soul drags you further to hell...We will devour you, reaper...Alan knows...He knows and he'll leave you..." _Eric doubled over and covered his ears, clenching his eyes shut and cringing. He shook his head as they continued, rising in volume until they were screaming, piercing his ears and sending him to his knees.

"Shut up! Please! Leave me alone!" He cringed and shook his head vigorously, shuddering. He opened his eyes for a moment to and saw a pair of shoes stop in front of him. He noticed the small embroidered skulls at the tip and realised they were Alan's, looking up slowly until he was face to face with him. Not again...not another hallucination. He shuddered as it knelt down in front of him and stared.

"_Eric..." _The blond stared at the illusion and swallowed hard. He sniffed and kept an eye on him, furrowing his eyebrows as it grabbed it's chest and started gasping. He winced a little as the chain began burning and growing shorter. He felt the metal heat up to an almost unbearable point, searing his skin and making him cringe heavily. He looked down at the ground again for a moment then back to the hallucination, going wide eyed as he saw black thorns covering his body.

"Oh my god...Alan , please...Don't die, I'm so close! I'll save you! I swear!"

"_You're a murderer...You'll be in hell before you can save me..."_

"No! Please, hang on until I can save you!" He sat up and tried to wrap his arms around it, falling forwards and tossing his glasses off in some corner, slamming his fists on the ground. "Dammit! Dammit! DAMMIT! I can't do this anymore!" He slammed his fists on the ground again and sighed heavily, tears falling on the ground as he began sobbing. He kept pounding his fists on the ground and gasping, barely registering the demon staring down at him.


	20. Suffer

**A/N:** Kind of dark and depressing it is, but it's all good~! I think it was the fact that I opened a new file for my chapters that this one came so quick, oh well~! Enjoy y'all! And I really appreciate your reviews, they've been sweet and amazing and I'm so glad that everyone is enjoying it! Oh and check out 'Can You Fix Me?' by EmoMagician, it's super awesome!

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><p>Alan sighed as he stared out at the pouring rain again. He'd still not seen or heard from Eric and it had been more than three months, making him worry even more that he'd be found in a ditch or hanging from a roof somewhere. Eric could be in an alley, constantly having the rain poured on him, falling into pneumonia again. He shook his head and stared down at his reports, rubbing his chest a little. That was the last thing he needed at this point, all of his stress and worries had sent him into overdrive with his attacks. His chest seemed to always be hurting at this point, even if it was only a dull burn, it was enough to cause pain.<p>

"Al? You alright, everyone left hours ago..." Thomas peeked in and waved at the other brunette. Since Eric had vanished, Alan hadn't been able to handle things on his own. It was almost like he'd lost himself after it happened. Somewhere though behind his mask of depression, he could see bits of the real Alan, no matter how fleeting. "Come on, let's head home, huh? We'll grab something on the w—Al? Alan, look at me...are you al-"

"GAH! It burns!" He cringed and doubled over, shuddering and gasping. He cringed and looked up at Tommy, clenching his jaw to keep as quiet as possible. The pink haired reaper knelt down near him and rubbed his back slowly, hoping beyond anything it wasn't going to be his last few minutes. After a moment though, Alan perked up a bit and stared at him through bleary and tear clouded eyes. "E-eric? Y-you came b-back for me...I-I missed you..." he held a hand out to Tommy and pulled him close, shuddering heavily. "I-it hurts so m-much...h-help me...I d-don't want to d-die yet..." Tommy simply kept staring and rubbing his back gently.

"A-alan don't talk like that! You won't die! Not for many many years, I won't let you! I'm not gonna let go of my only friend that easily!" Alan smiled a little before letting out a pained howl, clutching his chest harder and letting out another sob, feeling like he was about to be sick. "P-please...don't die..."

* * *

><p>"Looks like the stress is making it worse...Tommy you might have to face facts, Alan might not be around much longer," Undertaker stood up and placed a cool rag on his forehead, watching him shake and whimper for a moment. The last thing he wanted was to bury his second favourite student, especially with what it was doing to Tommy. Thomas had had a nasty panic attack when Alan wouldn't calm down, leading to both of them somehow showing up passed out in front of the old reapers shop in the rain. He grabbed Tommy's chin and lifted his head up a little. "Look at me...we've got this worked out, remember~? When Alan wakes up and is feeling better then you can help him find Eric, alright~?"<p>

"But what if he doesn't? What if this one kills him? What if finding out about Eric kills him? He'd never want to stay with him, I know it!" He started shaking heavily and wiping his eyes, relaxing slightly when the older reaper rubbed his shoulders. "He's been my best fried for as long as I can remember..."

"And he'll stay that way, now let's take a look at those records, hmm? I'm curious about you two..." Thomas stopped and leaned on a coffin.

"I thought you were the one who collected our souls?"

"I supervised, but I never saw them...I'm curious to see them, Tommy-dear~ aren't you? I'm sure you don't remember much from before you died," The pink haired reaper shook his head and peeked at the books, swallowing hard at the sight of his and Alan's photos on the covers. A sudden crying out from the other room caught his attention and he ran out, kneeling by Alan, well the coffin holding Alan.

"T-tom...? Why am I i-in a coffin...? A-am I dead?"

"No, silly. Prof—Undertaker found us, he's letting us crash here for a few days..."

"So why am I in a...this isn't a regular coffin, is it?" Thomas watched him sit up and peek around it, staring down at the ground to avoid answering. "Tom? Do you know anything ab-"

"I don't want you to die, Al! I can't get through eternity by myself! It's dark and lonely and I can't operate with my only friend not at my side! I hope you can forgive Eric for all of us, you two belong together and he only wants you live a very long time!" He squeaked and covered his mouth quickly, only realising what he'd just said.

"What are you talking about?" Alan furrowed his eyebrows and Undertaker put a hand on his shoulder, making him jump a little.

"Another time, kitten. For now just go back to to sleep. Tommy come with me," He pushed his hair out of his eyes and glanced at the two from over his shoulder. "Come on, Tommy-dear~, there are things we need to discuss..."

* * *

><p>"Get up! You have no time to sleep! You have souls to collect!" Eric cringed and wrapped his arms around himself, shivering. "Come on, reaper!" Ree growled and threw a bucket of freezing water on him, kicking him hard in the back. "Now!" He dragged the blond up and shoved him toward the entrance of their run-down hideout. Eric stopped at the door frame and leaned against it, eyes drooping closed slowly. He was close enough to being deep asleep that it wasn't until he fell into the mud that he realised Ree had shoved him.<p>

"The hell was that for?" He stood up slowly and rubbed his arms shivering from the water, mud, and evening air. "I-I'm not l-like you...I n-need s-sleep..." He shook his head and watched the demon walk past him and smirk. "I'm n-not going to another a-alley..."

"Of course not, reaper. We're going to a park, now come along! We don't want to keep the girls waiting!" Ree turned back and grabbed his arm roughly, dragging him along to a carriage. He snarled as the blond shook his head and snatched his arm away. "You idiot! Do you want him to die! Don't you understand what will happen?" The reaper merely stared at him and shook his head, growling.

"How dare you talk to me like I'm stupid? Don't you think I know what will happen? Why do you think I'm tormenting myself? I'm going insane trying to save him! He's all I have in this world and I will not let him be taken from me so easily! Do I make myself clear?" He sniffed and held his saw up to the demon, ready to take him out any second. Ree narrowed his eyes and shook his head, slowly walking back to him.

"...You're so vulnerable...your sanity has slipped, your anger is the only thing that keeps you from destroying yourself," The demon smirked and walked over to him, circling slowly. "You don't realise how far you've fallen, do you? Your mind is so unguarded..." He stopped and stared right at the blond, smirking and pressing right against him.

"What are you doing, demon? Get away from me..." He made to step back but was frozen to the spot, swallowing hard when he saw the demon's eyes were glowing, keeping him in place. "O-ok, I get the joke...let me go...I've not got very many to go now...about 152, right? Let's go," He tried moving again but Ree still had him in place. "Look you, I am by no means vulnerable and I have no feelings for you. I love Alan, and your hang-ups are NOT going to get in my way!" Ree's smirk widened.

"Oh how vulnerable...you are so open to an attack. Someone could come to you and..." he slid his fingers into his hair and pulled their faces close, foreheads pressed together. Eric winced as his hair was pulled, "...simply possess your twisted soul, just...like...THIS!" He growled and pulled the blond down into a rough kiss, dragging his nails down his scalp. Eric cringed and tried pushing him away, unfortunately with no luck. He growled and protested, anything he could to get him away. After a moment his protests died down as a burning pain slowly made it's way from the base of his skull and basically exploded in his head. There were stars behind his eyes as the pain slowly radiated to the rest of his body. He fell forward as Ree's body went limp and dragged him down, breaking his fall with his hands and shaking his head. As sudden;y as the pain came, it was gone again, a fleeting moment of relief.

"What the...hell? What was that a—AAAHHH MY HEAD!" He cringed doubled over, suddenly feeling like his head would explode. He slammed his fist on the ground and started crying out and sobbing from the pain.

"_It's so strange being inside your head, so many fears...so much rage...yet so much concern for someone so weak..." _The pain seemed to vanish in an instant and Eric perked up, looking around and back to the body.

"Where are you...? Come out you filthy, no good-"

"_Ah but now if I showed myself then you would die. And we can't save our dear Allie if we're dead, now can we~?" _Eric growled and kept searching around, occasionally grabbing his head and cringing as a searing pain surged out to every nerve ending in his body. Where was he? Why was his voice echoing? Who the hell was this 'we' he was mentioning? What if that demon hadn't vanished...? At least, physically, he'd merely...

"AAAHHH! What the hell is going on? Get out of my head!" He yanked on his hair to attempt pulling him out through his scalp. All he managed to give himself though was even more of a headache. He felt another surge of pain and the chain begin to burn and shorten again, making him double over and hug himself tight. "Keeeeeee, why are you doing this to me? I just want to...to...Nnnn! God it burns..." He cringed and yanked on the chain a few times, growling in frustration when it wouldn't budge. This wasn't death was it? No...death was more merciful, every reaper knew that. No, this was something much worse...worse than being influence by a demon...the only thing could be. What no human or reaper wanted to be...

_"Oh no..." _His eyes flashed red before another blinding surge swept through, knocking him out.

* * *

><p>"He's still asleep...feels like he's got a bad fever..." Thomas set a new cold rag on Alan's forehead and swallowed hard, biting his lip. Alan winced and threw an arm over his eyes, shaking as his breathing became ragged and his whimpering started back up.<p>

"No...Eric..." Both Thomas and the Undertaker stared at him and pulled him out of the coffin, holding him tight.

"I have a spare room with a large bed, we'll put him there and maybe that will help. Follow me, kitten..." Thomas nodded and followed quietly, laying him down gently and watching silently. He sniffed and looked down at the ground as he left the room, unwilling to look right at Alan's shaking body. "He'll pull through...he's stronger than he looks. Now come with me, let's take a look at those records, hmm?" Thomas nodded as Undertaker pulled him out of the room and draped a arm over his shoulder, hugging him close.

"P-professor...what if he...what if Eric doesn't stop killing people after this? I mean, murder can really mess you up...can't it?" he sniffed and leaned against the wall, shaking his head and sniffing. "Please professor...I can't lose him! There's got to be something we can do!" He shuddered and hid his face in his hands, shaking and crying uncontrollably. Undertaker pulled him close and kissed the top of his head, rocking him gently.

"Unfortunately kitten...all we can do is make sure that he doesn't get sicker than he already is..." Not very helpful after all. Thomas cringed and sobbed harder into the old man's shoulder, grabbing fistfuls on his robes while his back was rubbed slowly. "Shhhhhh...it'll be alright, my dear...just you wait, hmm? We'll help them through this, but right now they need some space, hmm?" Thomas sniffed and looked up at him after wiping his eyes, smiling a little. Undertaker grinned and led him out of the room, nipping his nose gently before pulling him into a coffin.

* * *

><p>"<em>Boss, what the hell am I gonna do? I can't lose him! He's my best friend..." Eric stared at the Undertaker twirling around and giggling. The old man really had gone crazy, hadn't he? He stopped twirling and grinned wide, handing him a book. "What is this? I'm not gonna open this and a pressed spleen fall out, am I?"<em>

"_Heeheeheehee, you worry too much, kitten~! I keep pressed organs elsewhere!" The old man began giggling and twirling around again, grinning as his hair fanned out and landed around his shoulders. "Take that book with you~! There should be something in there to help you!" Eric nodded and ran a hand through his hair, leaning against the wall._

"_I'm so sick of seeing him suffer..."_

"_You know, kitten...since you're going to attempt the impossible, why not try something new with yourself? I've always though you would look quite appealing with blond hair~" Undertaker grinned and draped his arms over the brunette, nuzzling him gently._

"_Stop it. I've got a thousand souls to collect," He shook his hair out of his eyes and left the shop without another word._


	21. Fessah and Kitty

**A/N: **I don't know about y'all but after last chapter I thought we could all use a bit of a treat~! But I don't wanna say too much~! Your reviews have been so lovely~! I really appreciate them! They're so sweet!

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><p>Thomas leaned against the wall in the only proper bedroom Undertaker had. He still had a fever, and was starting to get nasty attacks in his sleep, crying out and opening his eyes to reach for Thomas. He was hallucinating, thinking that his best friend was his lover, crying out as the darkness crept closer to his heart with every millimeter. This must be death, he'd found a tattered old book in Eric's flat once, full of reaper folklore. Well, more specifically it was all about the Thorns, it was murderously painful when it set in, slow and torturous when it reached the heart, wrapping slowly around it and then finally constricting. That last attack was long, hard, pure murder, every molecule of the body felt like it was burned many times over. He swallowed and pushed his large glasses up again, looking down to see that Alan had made his way out of the blanket, clutching his chest and gasping for breath. Not another one...<p>

"H-help...m-me..." He coughed heavily and started sobbing from the pain, begging silently for something to pull him back into the light. Thomas knelt down beside him as a sudden streak of lightning flashed outside, lighting up the whole room.

"Alan...please, don't give in yet...it's too soon..." He squeaked as a loud crash of thunder hit his ears, cuddling up against him and shuddering. "You promised Eric that you wouldn't die on him...remember?"

"E-eric...? Is h-he okay? D-did you find h-him y-yet? H-he's so close...j-just a f-few m-more..." He started coughing again and gasping for breath. He shuddered heavily and sobbed into the blankets, almost clawing his chest. "P-please Tom...m-make i-it stop..." He choked out the last word and gasped, cringing. Thomas held his free hand tight and sniffed as the attack subsided, leaving the ill reaper shaking and whimpering. "Tom..."

"Are you a-alright...?" He looked up and adjusted Alan's glasses, shaking his hair out of his eyes. He sniffed as a soft rumble sounded outside, breaking the monotony of the once again pouring rain.

"Go get some rest...I'll be ok..." Thomas opened his mouth but Alan gave him a stern look. "I mean it...you're going to run yourself ragged..."

"Swear you'll be alright?" Alan nodded and smiled a little, slipping off his glasses and stretching a bit. Thomas stood slowly and grabbed the papers he'd been working on. Alan stared at him and slowly drifted off back to sleep. He sighed and closed the door quietly, looking up to see the Undertaker busying himself with a body. "P-professor?" The old man looked up and giggled, his grin fading in an instant.

"Everything alright, kitten~? You look so shaken," Thomas shook his head and squeaked again at another roll of thunder, even if it was quiet.

"I-I have to t-take something to t-the death scythe d-department, I'll b-be back soon, I promise! Please keep an eye on Alan?" Undertaker nodded and watched as Thomas grabbed his coat, running out into the rain.

* * *

><p>Thomas squeaked at a loud crash of thunder, dashing into the doorway of Undertaker's shop. He was soaked to the bone, shaking from the storm and gripping his new scythe almost desperately. It was going to take some getting used to, the size itself was enough to deal with but what he'd requested was something he'd been dreaming of for years. He slipped into the shop silently and glanced around, holding his scythe up in case Undertaker decided to pop out of a coffin. He straightened up and grinned a bit when he heard the old man humming and talking to a body, or...<p>

"Oh lord..." He shook his head and set his scythe to the side, smiling at it. In the most basic of terms it was just a larger version of his old one. The shaft and blade both were all black, though the shaft of it looked like a large tree limb, knotted and gnarly in every way possible. Wrapped around it were multiple silver thorn branches, wrapping all the way up and changing into painted vines on the blade. He grinned and slipped his coat off quickly, rubbing his arms and shivering. The rain had not let up in the least, soaking everything within seconds. He sniffed and looked around, whining at the fact that it was so dark, the only light source being the bright flashes of lightning outside. He squeaked and instantly curled up on the ground when he heard another clash boom through the shop, shaking the bricks. He squeaked and held himself tight, looking around in a panic.

"P-professor..." He shuddered and got up slowly, crawling towards the hall and pausing with each flash of lightning and thunder clap. With an even louder crash of thunder he curled up again and cried out, whimpering and shaking like a leaf. The noise caught the attention of the old reaper, making him falter with his stitches. "Oh I hate storms..." He shivered and crawled over to a corner, shaking violently. Undertaker made his way out to the main room and looked around, pushing his hair out of his eyes.

"Tommy? Are you alright, kitten?" He blinked and scanned the room for a moment, spinning when he saw the reaper in question curled up and crying quietly in a corner. He smiled a little and knelt down to his level, crawling over to him and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Oh Tommy-dear...you're absolutely soaked to the core~! Come on now, let's get you up and out of these wet clothes!" He grinned and helped the brunette up to his feet, hugging him close. Thomas squeaked again and clinged to him with another crash of thunder. "Tommy...I didn't know you were afraid of storms~"

"I-I'm not~! J-just loud n-noises! AAHHH~! Why won't it stop? It's so loud!" He shuddered and whimpered into the old reapers robes, partially shaking from his wet clothes.

"We'll find a way to drown it out, but for now let's find you something dry to put on and get you warm, ne~?" The smaller reaper nodded and let go of Undertakers robes, following him back towards his room, closing the door behind him and locking it.

"W-what about Alan? He's not..."

"He's alright...his fever has gone down and he's sleeping peacefully, even got him to eat a little while you were gone," The old reaper nodded and opened up a coffin, holding a hand out for the younger of the two. Thomas swallowed and slid off his glasses, setting them aside before the old reaper pulled him into a tight embrace. "Now...kitty needs to be warmed up~" Thomas tucked the old reapers hair out of his eyes and blushed a little, grabbing his robes and pulling him into a soft kiss. Undertaker giggled a little and wrapped his arms around the small reapers waist, taking control of the kiss when he slid his tongue into Thomas's mouth. Thomas purred softly and slid his hands up his chest and into his hair slowly, tangling his fingers into the silver locks.

"So soft..." His giggle was met with a quiet laugh from Undertaker, feeling the ex-reaper slide a hand around to pull his hair from it's ribbon. "Professor...?" the old reaper met his gaze and grinned, pulling him back and stepping away slightly to remove his boots. Thomas sniffed a little and slipped off his shoes, thankful his socks went with them.

"I know just how we can warm up the poor little kitty~" Thomas blinked and looked at the old man, pushing his hair out of his line of vision and blushing a little. "Come on Tommy-dear~ I don't want you to get sick..." he pulled the brunette close and basically fell into the coffin, pulling Tommy along. He squeaked and somehow landed underneath him, whimpering when he heard the thunder rumble outside. "Shhhh, it'll be alright dearie...~" He grinned and grabbed Tommy's chin gently, turning his head back to look at him, sliver hair falling around them like a curtain as he leaned down to kiss him again, sliding his nails along the brunettes jaw and down his neck, flicking open the buttons of his shirt and waistcoat without a second thought. Thomas slid his fingers through his hair and whimpered softly with each rumble outside, his focus on the storm fading as he felt the cool air against his flesh. He giggled into the kiss when the old reapers hair fell on his chest, panting softly when the kiss broke and Undertaker nipped a small path down his neck, grinning as the smaller reaper tilted his head to the side.

"P-professor...I thought y-you wanted t-to warm me up...w-wouldn't it be more e-effective if the l-lid was closed~?" Undertaker sat up and straddled the brunette's hips, staring at the lid then leaning back down, guiding Tommy's hands to the buttons of his robe.

"You're quite right, Kitten~ how clever you are..." He giggled and nipped his earlobe, sucking at it and causing the smaller reaper to tilt his head back and falter with the buttons. It didn't help matters that the old man had pulled him up and shoved his shirt and waistcoat off of him before pinning him down and shutting the coffin, enveloping them in darkness. Thomas squeaked at the sudden loss of light but was distracted by Undertakers long nails sliding down his chest, putting more pressure on when he brushed one of his nipples.

"Mmmm~ professor...~" Thomas arched into his touch and moaned when he felt the old reapers warm chest press against his. He bit his lip and rocked his hips up against the old mans, arms sliding down his sides and to his trousers, hooking his fingers through the loops on the sides. Undertaker shivered a little and giggled at his young partner, wiggling against him and biting down hard on his collarbone. "Ooohhh~"

"So receptive to your Fessah~ what has gotten into you, kitten~?" Tommy blushed and sat up as best he could to reach the old mans ear, purring softly.

"Nothing just yet...~" He smirked as the old man shivered and dragged his long nails down the young reapers torso, making him fall back and moan softly, arching into his touch. Undertaker brushed his fingers along the front of the smaller reapers trousers and squeezed gently. "Mmmmm~ Yes Fessah...~" He shuddered and pulled on the old reapers trousers, arching up against him and groaning when he heard the old man moan softly. "Enjoying that, hmm~?"

"Yes but I'm the one in charge here, kitty~ and naughty kitties need to be taught a lesson, don't they~?" He smirked and ground down hard against his former student, growling happily when he let out a loud moan. Thomas pulled him down into a hard kiss, forcing his tongue past the old reapers lips and grinding back against him. Undertaker shifted and both thrust against each other at the same time, a loud mewl coming from Thomas. The pulled apart slowly, only being connected by a small thread of saliva. Thomas jumped a little at the sound of a loud thunder crash and Undertaker nuzzled him gently. "Relax kitty, Fessah is here...~" He stopped for a second and grinned, raking his nails over the brunettes nipple to pull a whorish moan from him. "Mmm~ So responsive...How about we see just how receptive you are~?" Tommy shuddered at his words and dug his nails into the old man's back. The former reaper crawled down a little and took one of the brunettes nipples into his mouth.

"Aaahhhh~ Fessah has such an amazing mouth~" He groaned loudly as Undertaker pulled at the hardened peak with his teeth, raking his nail over the other. When he had Tommy panting and whining, he switched sides, moaning with each shiver the went down the young reapers spine. He rolled his hips up slowly and then began squirming when the old man flicked his trousers open, pulling them and his underwear down with a bit of force. Once they were low enough, Thomas squirmed until they were off, whimpering at the soft chill that seeped in through the cracks in the coffin. Undertaker looked up and curled his fingers around Tommy's member, stroking slowly and swallowing his moans with a very lust-filled kiss. Tommy bucked into his hand and pulled at his trousers, finally getting them loose and shoving them down as far as he could. "Such good hands too...Aaaahhhhnn~"

"Mmmmmm~ Kitty really is quite receptive...~ tell me dearie...what do you want your Fessah to do~?" Thomas looked up and swallowed hard, panting slowly and thrusting into his hand to try and make him start stoking again.

"B-but...could I...what if someone h—Mmmmm~" Undertaker squeezed him gently and shifted, digging through a hidden pocket in the coffin's lining and producing a bottle of oil. Thomas tried to focus and bit his lip, groaning when he suddenly felt a few cool drops on him, making his member twitch. He moaned whorishly as Undertaker began stroking him again, stuttering a little as he struggled to form a coherent thought. "I...I want...Mmmmmm~ Please professor..." The old man looked up and groaned loudly as Tommy dragged his nails along his nipples, going from his chest to sliding a nail along the scar on his chest.

"Mmmmmmm~ Kitty likes to use claws, hmm~?" He squeezed again and Thomas threw his head back, shuddering when one of his slicked fingers brushed against his entrance. "Now tell me...what do you want Fessah to do...~?" Thomas moaned again and bit his lip, hoping he wasn't going to wake Alan with the noise he was making.

"I...c-can you...Nnnnnn~ Fuck me, professor~ It's been sooooooo long~" he managed to get it out inbetween loud moans. Undertaker smirked and nudged him a little with his nose, pushing his hair out of his eyes.

"Look at me, kitty...I want to see those giant eyes of yours~" He shifted Thomas's legs a bit and pressed a finger into him, wiggling it slowly and kissing his neck to keep the brunette from crying out in pain. "Oooohhhh~ Really has been a while, hasn't it~ I might not be able to control myself...~" He shivered a little and nipped his earlobe, groaning softly as the brunette panted against his neck. He grinned at the sight of Thomas's emerald eyes glowing slightly in the dark, their gazes locking together and both letting out a soft moan in unison. Tommy rocked back against his finger and winced slightly as he added a second, scissoring him open slowly.

"Mmmmm~ hurry up, Professor...fuck me hard~" Undertaker paused for a moment and giggled at the usually so proper reapers use of profanity. It always shocked him to hear the boy swear, even when he was angry. He brushed his fingers against Thomas's prostate and kissed him hard to muffle a very loud and very lewd mewl that ripped through him. He almost couldn't take it anymore and slid in a third at the same time he slid his tongue into his mouth. Thomas began rocking hard against his fingers and whimpering, hoping the old man would get the hint. Undertaker giggled into the kiss and slid the oil on his length, pulling his fingers out. "Nnnnn~ So cruel..."

"Mmmm, does kitty not want me to help her little problem then~? Such a shame..." Undertaker sat there for a moment and Thomas whined at him, sliding his arms around his back. He pouted and leaned up, kissing and nipping the old man's neck, hoping he'd get the message. "I suppose you do~ So eager and desperate...~" He grinned and slowly pushed into the smaller reaper, trying to go as slow as possible before he simply couldn't take it and thrust in with one swoop. He pulled back and groaned into his protégé's ear. "Mmm~ so deliciously tight~" Thomas whimpered softly and dug his nails into his back, shivering a little.

"S-so big~ feels so good...L-like a severed hand in a glove~" He giggled a little and squirmed on the old man's length, smirking when Undertaker growled at the comment.

"Mmm yes~ so well put, my dear kitty~" He clenched his teeth and began thrusting slowly, sliding his arms under him and pulling him close. He moaned at the feeling and bit down hard on his shoulder. Thrusting harder and deeper once they shifted a little. Thomas tilted his head back and dug his nails into his back, sliding his legs around his waist to pull him closer, throwing his head back.

"Ah~ Mmmmm~ H-harder professor...~" he tilted his head back and whimpered into the old man's hair, gasping when Undertaker began to thrust harder and groan against his neck, hissing from the friction created by Thomas's needy member trapped between them. "Uuunnnh~ t-touch me..."

"H-how bossy...~" He giggled and slid a hand between them, brushing his thumb against the tip of Thomas's length, spreading the small bit of liquid around before stroking him slowly. Thomas groaned loudly and bit his lip hard, trying to keep quiet. Undertaker stopped for a moment when he heard some shuffling around in the other room. "Shhhhh..." He pressed a soft kiss to the brunettes lips and shifted slightly, brushing against his prostate, grinning when he tried not to cry out. When it went quiet again he smirked and thrust hard into the sweet spot again.

"AAHH~! Right there! F-faster...~!" He moaned out and rolled his hips against the old man's, whimpering and mewling every time he pounded into the brunette. "Mmmmm~ yes...so good, Fessah...~" He gasped and dug his nails hard into Undertakers back, throwing his head back and almost hitting it on the head of the coffin. Undertaker groaned loudly and squeezed him a little rough, shuddering at the coiling in the base of his spine.

"Mmmm~ That's it, dearie~ moan for me...such lovely music...~" He growled into Tommy's ear and moaned when his thrusts started to become erratic, encouraged by Thomas's moaning and raking his nails along his back.

"Nnnn~ P-professor...I'm s-so close~!" He bit his lip and pulled Undertaker close, panting and moaning lewdly against his neck. He clenched his teeth and twitched a little with every rough thrust into him.

"Don't hold it in on me, kitten~ I want it all...~" Both of them groaned loudly and Undertaker pounded into his prostate again. Thomas gasped and arched his back like a cat, shuddering violently as he came between them, coating their stomachs and Undertaker's hands, twitching with each spasm. "Mmmmmmm yes...~" Undertaker bit down on his shoulder and thrust a few more times, tensing up and moaning loudly through gritted teeth, holding the smaller reaper close as he released inside of him.

Thomas was still panting heavily and clinging to the old man, grinning a little and pushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes. Undertaker giggled and nuzzled him.

"All quiet now...the weather must have calmed down..."

"Doubtful kitten, it'll still be storming just...not as violent," Undertaker kept his arms around him and pulled out slowly, shifting and curling up next to him. He grinned as Thomas snuggled up next to him, looking up and smiling.

"You think Eric can save Alan in time?"

"We can only hope...And hope that he does it soon, that was just one attack now that Alan had a few days ago, He's only got about two weeks...the Thorns have wrapped around his heart and they're starting to squeeze, Thomas. If Eric doesn't show up soon with the 1000 souls then Alan might as well get comfy in his coffin. I know that's the last thing you want to hear kitty but it's the truth," Thomas nodded slowly and sniffed, rubbing his eyes. Undertaker rubbed his back slowly and kissed the top of his head. "He should be up to scratch by tomorrow...then we'll talk to him, hmm?"

"Good idea..." Thomas smiled a little and tilted his head up to give a soft kiss, sliding an arm down the old man's chest. "Say Professor...think we can do it again~?"

"Oooohhhh so eager~!" the old man grinned and pulled him close.

* * *

><p>Eric threw himself back against the wall hard enough to hit his head, cringing a little. All he'd been able to feel for the last week was pain, it burned even more when that no good demon started talking.<p>

"_Self mutilation isn't going to get rid of me, reaper. I'm a part of you now, you think possession is so simple as beating the evil out of yourself?"_ Eric snarled and jerked his head back against the wall again, only managing to cause a nasty ring in his ear.

"Shut up! You want me to give in to you so easily? Nice try, you're fucking with the wrong reaper though, demon. I won't be broken down so easily!" Eric leaned back against the wall laughing a little, softly at first and slowly into something close to a deranged cackle. He shook his hair out of his eyes and cringed slightly, still laughing as the demon possessing him took over and his eyes glowed red.

"_You've already been broken, reaper. Madness has become your friend...you became reckless in your pursuit to save the man you love." _Eric tossed his head back against the wall again to shut the demon up, eyes still glowing as he crept after a group of girls. He smirked and dragged his saw across each of their bodies, smirking as they screamed from his lack of care. Perhaps Ree was right...maybe he was becoming reckless.

"How much longer until you get out of my head? I'd like my sanity back" He stared down at the bodies as his eyes returned to their usual green, looking around silently.

_"Never." _The blond cried out as black stars appeared behind his eyes, gripping his head hard with a shudder. _"You're mine forever, Eric..."_

* * *

><p>"This is ridiculous, first Slingby and now Humphries has gone missing. The last thing I need is Anderson breathing down my neck because we took the only reaper capable of handling himself in this department. What do you think, Ronald? Ronald? Knox!" William pushed up his glasses and glanced down at the reaper laying his head in his lap. He sighed and shook his head slowly, setting the papers down and sliding off his glasses.<p>

"Zombie bunnies...brains...like Knoxie brains..." Ronald stirred a little and turned to face Will's stomach, rubbing against him a little. The older reaper clenched his teeth and shifted.

"What sort of dreams are you having Knoxie? I'd love to get inside your head..." He smiled and sat back against the sofa, staring out at the rain. "Please be safe, Eric...we miss you..."


	22. Trouble

**A/N:** So...curious about what Grell did? What hasn't he done people, I mean it is Grell we're talking about! If you're confused about what Thomas is talking about then you'll just have to wait until the next chapter~! Until then...make up your own theories~! And thank you for the reviews, I'm glad y'all are enjoying it~! ^J^

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><p>"Overtime Sutcliff and if you try it again, I will have you suspended without pay again, clear?" Grell pouted as he stormed out of William's office huffing walking around to the small group of desks Ronald and Thomas had pushed together.<p>

"You~! You had my chainsaw taken away didn't you? You no good snitch, I'll kill you!" Grell lunged for the smaller reaper, tripping on his coat and falling instead, crying out at the sudden pain in his ankle. He looked back and went wide eyed at the sight of his ankle. When he tripped he'd landed wrong and twisted his ankle, managing to break his heel as well. "Ah~! This is all your fault, you little bastard! I swear I'm going to slap the pink out of your hair!" Thomas raised an eyebrow and grabbed his scythe when the redhead tried to pull him down, resting the blade under Grell's throat and snarling at him.

"Try it, Sutcliff...I dare you. Try it and see what happens. My best friend is on his death bed, I'm tired and hungry, my back is killing me and I am EXTREMELY stressed out simply by being forced to work in this department! So I'll say it again..." He knelt down by the redhead and narrowed his eyes, holding the scythe in place. "Come at me, bitch," Grell just lay there silently, staring at him as he walked off before pulling himself up on the desks, absolutely shocked by this twitchy little reapers sudden change in attitude. Thomas set his death scythe to the side and gave him one last look before grabbing a note and walking away. The redhead hopped onto the desk and continued to stare, grabbing Ronald's arm when he came near.

"That Barker kid is something else, isn't he?" Ronald perked up and looked over in the same direction. "I mean, he shows up here on a transfer from glasses, no one knowing where the papers even came from. He's dam near afraid of his own shadow-" A sudden squeak cut him off, apparently a bird flew into the window again. "We don't know anything about him or what he does for fun, just that he's close to Alan..."

"He dyes his hair like once every few weeks too, last week it was pink and brown, now he's got it pink and white...and he's really close to the Undertaker too,"

"That creepy old man~? I remember working under him! He was so crazy, back when he was supervisor he had these jars full of like eyes and noses, ya know? And his overtime work or punishments would making you clean each eyeball in the jar by hand...it was disgusting~! And the old man would just sit there and laugh while you cringed!" He shook his head and looked at the blonds scythe, grabbing it without a second thought and yelping. "What the-? Why the hell is your scythe covered in thorns?" Thomas simply looked up and shrugged, grabbing the scythe and walking out of the office.

"Come on, Mr. Knox, we have a job to do," Ronald sighed and pulled his mower out of hiding, shrugging at Grell.

"I'll see what I can find out, alright?"

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><p>"Oi, Tommy...how close were you and Alan?" Ronald leaned against his mower and glanced over at the older reaper, watching him pick at one of the thorns on his scythe. Grell wasn't kidding, this dude really was quite strange. He was quiet, twitchy, had a strange taste in clothing and...seemed like he spent far too much time around the Undertaker. Thomas pulled off a thorn and started giggling. "The hell is so funny?"<p>

"You. But it was pretty obvious Alan and I are close, we've been best friends since before we died. He's like my brother..."

"So this whole Thorns thing must be pretty hard then, huh?" Thomas dropped the scythe and stared at the blond. He narrowed his eyes and shook his head.

"You say it like it's so trivial...What was your first indication that it was hard, huh? The fact that he's been going down hill faster than an idiot unable to steer a carriage or that...forget it. I have souls to collect," He shook his head and picked his scythe back up before hopping off the roof, leaving Ronald stunned and silent.

Thomas shook his hair out of his eyes and looked at the shrunken head hanging from his scythe, some manner of good luck charm from the Undertaker. He shook his head and looked at what should be Alan and Eric's lists, sighing a little as he wandered the streets of London, not bothering to acknowledge the stares he was receiving from the size and appearance of his death scythe.

"Compensating for something, Barker?" He stopped and looked around for the source of the voice, going wide eyed when he saw Eric, beaten, bruised, and very bloodied. He looked like he'd been through every ring of hell and back, and not even his glasses survived. Thomas narrowed his eyes a little and shoved him back into an alley with his scythe.

"What the hell are you doing here? I told you once you run off, to stay out of London until I give you the all clear! Last I checked, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Eric pushed up his non-existent glasses and looked out into the street for a moment. "Eric, I understand that you're worried but you need to stay out of sight, the reapers have it out for you! The second they see you you're to be killed on sight! So I'll ask again, why are you in London?"

"Look, I don't want to be here. I don't even remember how I got into town, I fell asleep and then next thing I know, I'm waking up above some tavern!" Thomas rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall, picking at the thorns of his scythe again. "Thomas, there's another thing...that demon I mentioned, there's an issue with him,"

"Let me guess, he backed out on his promise?" Eric narrowed his eyes and smacked the back of his head. "Ow! What was that for?" Eric continued to glare at him.

"Not quite, he took matters into his own hands," He flinched a little as the demon stirred, causing a massive shock to go down his spine. "He's inside my head..." the younger reaper blinked and cocked his head to the side, what on earth was this man talking about? "Forget it, just...can I see him? You have no idea how much I've missed him," Thomas looked away and shrugged.

"One thing first...were you telling me that...Prof-Undertaker should know how to fix it, now come on..." he motioned for Eric to follow him out of the alley, stopping after a moment and pulling something from the inside of his waistcoat. "Here, take my spares...I'm sure you're tired of being blind, hmm?" Eric snatched the glasses from him.

"God these are dorky..."

"Shut up, Slingby. You have no room to talk,"

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><p>"Professor...?" Undertaker didn't look up from the body he was examining, talking to himself and occasionally giggling. "Professor, aren't you l-"<p>

"Aaah~! Yes!" Both reapers jumped and looked towards the room Alan had been curled up in, not five seconds after Thomas had left the room were they fooling around. It may have been almost four months since they'd last seen each other but that was hardly an excuse to get intimate so quickly. The noise though made the small reaper cover his neck a little, running his hand over some of the fading lovebites from a few days ago.

"Tommy? Tommy! Thomas! Pay attention!" he snapped out of his thoughts and saw the old man drop the body into a coffin. "Now what did you say?" The old reaper hopped onto the occupied coffin and motioned for him to come over. Thomas sniffed and made his way over, settling into his lap and shrugging.

"You remember when I told you Eric had a demon helping him out?"

"I do...why do you bring it up, kitten~?"

"Well uh...how he put it was 'The demons in my head'...I think he might be possessed-" He stopped when he saw the look on Undertakers face. For a moment he thought it was because of the noise the other two reapers were making. Finally it hit that the old reaper was horrified by the sound of Eric being possessed. "P-professor...?" Undertaker didn't say anything, only shooed the blond off of his lap and grabbing a few things. "Professor what's wrong?"

"I guess it really will be two funerals I need to plan then..." He nodded and stared at the younger reaper, doing his best to suppress a giggle. Thomas shook his head and and looked down at his gloves. As was to be expected, the thorns on his scythe had practically torn them to ribbons. He sniffed and pulled the gloves off, looking back to Undertaker.

"What do you mean by that, professor?" The mortician didn't even look up from gathering up things, talking under his breath and occasionally swearing. "Professor, wouldn't be easier to get him to a priest, or an exorcist?" That caught the old mans attention. He set down the various books and vials and turned to face his former student.

"I wish it was that simple, kitten...unfortunately a possessed reaper is different than a possessed human. You remember your lessons on demons from the academy?" Thomas blinked and stared at the ground trying to recall something that might be of value.

"Demons are toxic...they will say or do anything to get what they desire...never get too close to one of them...demons are capable of possession of both humans and reapers..."

"You're getting warmer, keep talking. It'll come to you, I promise," Thomas swallowed and nodded, running a hand through his hair in thought.

"Ehhhh...it is impossible to pick out a possessed reaper from a crowd...the only way to find one is to pay attention to the eyes...Possessed reapers typically complain of severe pain, headaches, um...that's all I remember, I didn't pay much attention in classes regarding demons honestly..." He looked at the ground again only to hear soft giggling.

"But you did hear that much-"

"Nnngh~ again Alan...~" both reapers paused and stared toward the room, blinking. Thomas had assumed they would have been done by now, unless they were going at it again?

"Anyway! You did hear that the best way to picked out a possessed reaper is the eyes. Do you know why?" Thomas shook his head again, honestly now feeling foolish for sleeping through the lectures on demons. "Their eyes will flash when the demon is in control. It's very dangerous when the demon is controlling the reapers body. They are very likely to do things hat demons do, create contracts, eat souls...you name it, they can do it. Putting it simply the reaper becomes a puppet, their subconcious is locked away and usually compressed to death. That is why possessed reapers are always in pain, they're subconcious is at war with the demon's. Did Eric look that beat up when you found him?"

"Yeah, said he'd been trying for the last week to beat the demon out, broke his glasses and his arm in the process...if not a few more bones as well..."

"Well that's very Slingby...at least when he's desperate. I'm not surprised though, demons like Eric. Ever since he graduated from the academy they've been coming after him..."

"But why? I mean, did he make them angry or something?" Undertaker shook his head and pulled his ponytail loose, combing his fingers through his hair. "Quite a charming blond you are...~ But that's not the point. Eric has something they want. This old key thingie-"

"Is it gold with rubies, shaped like a skeleton with a crucifix on the bit?" Undertaker blinked and stared at him, absolutely shocked. "It's supposed to have the soul of a demon and a priest in it, right?"

"Y-yeah, how did you know about it?"

"It's Alan's lucky charm, he takes it everywhere with him..." Undertaker nodded slowly and slid his arms around Thomas's waist, perking up when Eric slipped out of the room, slipping a cigarette between his lips with a smirk. He glanced over at the two and winked, his eyes flashing red for a moment before he made his way out of the shop for a bit. Thomas went wide eyed and stared at his mentor, "Professor, did you see-"

"I did...there's no way to exorcise the demon...You know what that means, don't you?" Thomas shook his head and watched the older reaper vanish outside. "It means...Eric is gonna die. The only way to get that demon out of his head is if his body is dead."

"You mean-"

"I'm really sorry, Kitten"

"But Alan! And he's You're telling me that I have to make my best friend suffer even more! I can't kill the man he loves!" Undertaker grabbed his shoulders and looked into his eyes.

"Relax! I'll go with you, alright? This is far too unfortunate that our plans have gone to waste like this..."Thomas ran a hand through his hair and swallowed, glancing back to the door and seeing Alan come out, buttoning his shirt slowly.

"Alan? How're you feeling?" The brunette looked over and smiled a little, leaning against the wall to stay stable. It was still obvious that he was failing, he looked half asleep, almost starved, terribly pale and breathing heavily. "Al, did you hear me?"

"I heard...I wanted to go find Eric..." Both reapers stared before Thomas stood up, walking over to him slowly and pulling him into a tight hug. He smiled when the smaller reaper hugged him back before burying his face into his shoulder, breaking out into heavy sobs.

"Al, I'm so sorry...I should have told you sooner, this whole mess could have been avoided..." He kept crying and jumped a little when the brunette rubbed his back.

"What are you talking about, Tom?"

"E-eric...he's been...but he's doing it for you! And he...he's been trying to gather 1000 souls like the story says!" Alan just stared at him like he was an idiot.

"I know..."

"But he made a deal with a demon to help him!"

"I know..." Thomas bit his lip and ran a hand through his hair.

"He was possessed..."

"I know, Tom. None of that bothers me...now if you'll excuse me," He stepped away slowly and grabbed his scythe, slowly staggering out of the shop and after Eric. Thomas remained standing and shook his head, hugging himself and crying again.

"I don't want them to die..."


	23. Falling

**A/N:** Yeah, I know it's short. Odds are the next few will be short, but it'll get us closer to the climax~! I must point out, the vine creeping out on Alan, that'll show up a bit more within the next few chapters and is inspired by this picture here: .com/art/The-one-Diseased-by-Thorns-291715638. I appreciate your reviews, they've been super cool~! Oh and party about reaching 50 reviews~! Ain't that awesome?

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><p>Alan made his way down the street slowly, clinging to his scythe to help keep him vertical. He stopped by an old building and leaned against the wall, panting heavily. An old woman passed by him and paused, giving him a sad look before continuing on. Did he really look that pathetic? It was true he felt like hell but he couldn't look that terrible, could he? He knew that Eric looked absolutely terrible, that demon had been doing a number on him. He sniffed and looked up, cringing when he realised it had begun to rain again. He shook his head as he continued on slowly, occasionally holding his chest when he felt the thorns hold onto his heart.<p>

"Nyaaa~ nyaa~ Meoooooooooow..." Alan stopped and looked around for the noise, smiling when he heard soft mewing. Poor thing sounded so scared, probably with nowhere to stay dry. He sighed and crept down an alley, stopping when a scruffy black kitten peeked out from an overturned rubbish bin. Alan cocked his head to the side and smiled a little, kneeling to it's level and grinning. It kept staring at him and slowly crept to the edge. "Meow?" Alan kept smiling at her, reaching a hand out to try and convince it to come closer.

"It's alright kitty...I won't hurt you...I'll keep you safe," He knelt down on all fours and crawled over to the bin, holding his hand out still. The kitten sniffed his finger and licked the water off of it, nuzzling him a little. "See? I'm a good reaper...you're so skittish, my best friend would love you," he grinned as the kitten slipped out further, watching him quietly. Halfway out of the bin, she stopped and arched her back, hair standing on end. "What's wrong?" The kitten's ears flattened out and looked up, hissing loudly at a dark figure behind the brunette. "Kitty? What's wr—Mmmph!" He gasped and started kicking as the figure grabbed him and slammed him against the wall. "P-please...don't hurt me!"

"Oh I won't hurt you, reaper...I'm going to kill you!" He cringed and shivered heavily, going wide yed when realised how familiar the voice sounded. He could have sworn it was Eric but it was far too low and gravelly to be sure. He swallowed hard and looked back at the dark figure before inhaling heavily, coughing and grabbing his chest. The figure narrowed its eyes and smirked. "Looks like I won't have to kill you..." He growled and tightened his hold on Alan's throat before tossing him against the opposite wall. He cried out when his head hit the bricks and he slumped down into a heap, shivering as rain poured down on him.

"...W-..." He held his chest tight and watched the figure walk away from him. He swallowed as kept coughing and begging, lifting a hand up to the side of his head and wincing when he felt blood coming from the side of his head. "Ooooooowwwwwww...Somebody...anybody...help...me..." he swallowed hard and his vision began to cloud and he smiled a little when the kitten came over to nuzzle him. And then, blackness.

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><p>"This is NOT how I wanted to spend my day off, Ronald. Now could you PLEASE tell me what the hell we're doing here?" Ronald looked back and shrugged, running a hand through his hair.<p>

"That Barker guy said that he knew where Alan and Eric were, I want him to prove it. Now...where is he?" Ronald looked around slowly and ran a hand through his hair. He couldn't have decided to back out at the last second. Then again, nobody had said there was somewhere to meet at, now did they? Ronald sighed and stopped by an alley, furrowing his eyebrows when he thought he heard something. "Boss...you hear that?"

William stopped behind the blond and narrowed his eyes, looking out for any sources of sound. He pulled a small light from his pocket and shined it into an alleyway. Nothing. Some kitten nudging a corpse, bits of rotting garbage and dirty shreds of clothing left behind by prostitutes, maybe even a few rats hiding out. The cat turned in his direction and mewled softly, tugging on the sleeve with it's teeth.

"Just some cat...and some poor soul attacked by a demon. Looks like they had their soul sucked out already...Nothing we can do about it. Come along Knox," He shoved the light back into his pocket as they continued on their way, far too wrapped up to notice the hand twitching as a thorn covered vine peeked out from under his sleeve.

Alan stirred when the kitten nipped his nose, pushing his glasses up slowly. He narrowed his eyes a little and saw William and Ronald walking away, sitting up slowly and holding out a hand to them. He tried crying out them but it was far too hoarse for them to hear.

"William...Ronald...h-help...c-come back! No..." He slammed his fist on the ground and began sobbing silently, shaking like a leaf. Very slowly he grabbed his scythe and pulled himself up, glancing down at the kitten after it hopped onto another rubbish bin, mewing softly. "Y-you want to...come with me...?" The kitten mewled softly and cocked it's head. Alan smiled at it and reached an arm out, grinning when she slowly climbed up. "What if...I call you...Erica...? Just like my...favourite flower..." He sniffed and clinged to his scythe again when the cat was safely resting on his shoulder, slowly walking out of the alley. He cringed and held the side of his head again, wincing when he felt how large the gash in his head was. He swallowed hard and looked around slowly, glancing around for Eric.

"Oh my god, Alan! Look at you! What were you thinking?" He looked over at Thomas slowly and swallowed hard, swaying a bit. Before he could fall again Thomas ran over and grabbed him, holding him up. "What happened to you, Al? Did you—Oh my...your head! Alan, how did this happen? Hey, Look at me...how hard did you hit your head?" Alan stared at him silently before his scythe fell and he collapsed in Thomas's arms. "Oh my god..." He swallowed hard and looked around panicked.

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><p>"<em>What are you staring at?"<em>

"Shut up." He cringed when he felt a stabbing pain in the base of his skull. He clenched his eyes shut and held on tight to the edge of the roof, shaking his head.

"_Awwwww, is something wrong, reaper? Are you depressed because of what you did to that weak little creature you call a lover? It's his own f-"_

"I said shut up! You have no right to talk about him like you know him!" He cringed again and jumped down from the rooftop, looking around. "When do you plan to get out of my head?"

"_I told you...you're mine now, reaper. And I'm never letting go of you,"_ Another wave of pain shook his entire body. Eric shook his head and threw himself against the wall, cringing when he hit his bad arm, feeling it break again.

"AHH! Jesus!" He swallowed hard and flung himself against the wall again, shuddering and sobbing quietly. He felt a hand on his shoulder and glanced over through his tears.

"My dear boy, are you alright?" The blond stayed silent as his vision cleared slightly, the woman smiled and patted his shoulder gently before continuing on her way. Eric narrowed his eyes and hissed at the burn her touch left on his skin.

"...It hurts..."

"_She's the very epitome of pure. Follow her! Follow the nun, reaper! You can save Alan...just follow her! Do y-"_

"She can help me get you out of my head..." The blond smirked and followed silently, stopping in front of a church. He set a hand on the stair rail and jerked back, holding it tight and hissing, "It burns! Jesus, it burns!"

"_What did you expect, reaper?"_ Eric growled in response and rubbed his hand slowly, shaking his head.

"Just shut up, demon..."


	24. Flashback

**A/N:** Told you this one would be short also~! It's just some backstory but still~! And...yeah! I'm digging your reviews~! They've been charming and sweet and I'm glad y'all are enjoying it!

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><p>"<em>Swear we'll get out of here? Away from these priests and their crazy ideals?"<em>

"_Of course. We'll run far away from them, Alan. I promise!" Alan grinned and peeked out from the alcove, glancing around for a sign of any priest or nuns coming near._

"_Coast is clear, come on!" He looked back ad furrowed his eyebrows...Thomas was there just a moment ago, wasn't he? "T-Tom? Where'd he get to...? Tom? Seriously Tom this i—Mmph!" A hand dragged him out of the alcove and slammed his head against the wall. "Wh-who the hell are you?"_

"_Quiet! You have sinned against God and will pay for your actions!" Alan looked up at the group surrounding him and shuddered, looking around for Thomas. He finally stopped and went wide eyed at the sight of Thomas being held limp by another priest with a bag over his head. He barely noticed what happened until the head priest slapped him hard and slammed his head into wall, suddenly turning everything black._

"You keep watching that scene over and over, kitten. Is everything alright?" Thomas jumped and almost dropped the bottle of embalming fluid he'd been dusting off. Undertaker watched quietly and took the bottle from him, smiling a little. Thomas didn't say anything and continued to watch the record, waiting for something to show other than blackness and tortured cries.

"_Do you regret what you've done?" The priest tore the bag off of Alan's head and slapped him hard, smirking when he heard a soft whine coming from the brunette._

"_...I've...not done anything...wrong..." He cried out at being slapped again, shivering when h heard a door open and a rush of wintery air came in. He looked up slowly and stared at the priest for a moment before glancing around for Thomas. He could hear him crying and begging for mercy. _

"_LIAR! You were seen with that Barker child! You know that sodomy is a grave sin and will not be tolerated! Therefore you both will be punished!" He grabbed a whip and cracked it hard against the boy's stomach, hitting him repeatedly until he started crying._

"_W-we weren't...doing that...swear..." He cried out with another crack of the whip, sobbing quietly as the priest continued to hit him and accuse him-_

"That's quite enough of that, kitten." Undertaker slammed the book closed and stared at the smaller reaper, softening a little when he saw tears streaming down his cheeks. "Tommy? Look at me, kitty..." Thomas looked up and wiped his eyes, smiling a little.

"I-I'm fine...I should...go see how Alan's doing..." He sniffed and walked out of the room, not bothering to knock when he came into Alan's room. He closed the door and jumped when Eric hissed at him, stalking the bed protectively. "It's alright kitty, just Uncle Tommy..." She narrowed her eyes and let out a harsh meow before crawling on Alan's stomach, still keeping a close watch on the blond. He sniffed a little and grabbed Alan's hand, holding it tight.

"Tommy...?" He looked up and Alan smiled a little, cringing slightly. "My...head..."

"Are you bleeding again?" Alan shook his head slowly and set his hand on Erica's back, petting her gently. She mewed a little and glanced at Thomas before crawling off of his stomach and curling up next to him. "Just rest, Al...I'll come back soon, alright?" The brunette nodded and smiled weakly, watching him get up and leave the room quietly.

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><p>"<em>You idiot! This is the third time this week you've pulled a stunt like this, Slingby! What on God's green earth were you thinking?" A loud crack and a body hitting the floor jolted Thomas awake, looking around the room in a panic. "The next time you pull a stunt like this, I'll kill you! Are we clear?" This had to be a dream, he wasn't in the dungeon anymore, wherever he woke up at had him confused and...wait a minute...what had even happened?<em>

"_W-where am I? What happened...how come I'm not dead?" He looked down and sighed quietly, seeing Alan curled up next to him. They were dead, weren't they? After a moment what happened the last few weeks, he jumped and went wide eyed, looking around in a panic. "Where is this place? Hello! What's going on here? Oi, talk to me! Someone help me! What is this place? Oi, let us o-" The door opened and a dark haired reaper slapped him across the face, glaring. _

"_Shut up! You should be grateful that you were given this second chance, kid. Not everyone has such an opportunity. Now keep quiet!" The old reaper slammed the door shut and glared at his protege. _

"_Uh...boss, he didn't sound very calm. Maybe we should have trid to help him rel-"_

"_You questioning my opinion, Slingby? You think the best reapers are sympathetic? They'll gt used to it and go to the academy befor you know it. Now shut up and fill out those reports! I refuse to do more overitme because of your idiocy again, clear?"_

"_Y-yes sir..."_

"Professor...who was that old reaper there? I've never seen him before..." Undertaker looked up from setting the jar of ears aside, shrugging. He'd not thought about that psychotic bugger for a good many years. No one had even asked about him until now.

"Bill...he was a crazy old sod, used to be Eric's mentor. To say the least he wasn't very well liked around the office, we were glad when he died, kitten. Believe me" Thomas blinked and cocked his head to the side. Quite an abrasive fellow he was, huh? It would explain a lot as far as Eric's initial attitude was concerned when he started with Alan. "Shame too. Eric was extremely compassionate when he first started, not good with getting souls on time but he was a very caring person, made sure to make it as possible while he was still in the academy. That's why he's one of the best,"

"What happened to his mentor?"

"He was possessed before he graduated, that demon wreaked havoc on him, turned him into a real bastard, took almost 300 years but finally another reaper got tired of it and killed him," Thomas simply nodded and looked back at his record, occasionally flipping the pages before slamming it shut. He stood and looked at the old reaper before grabbing his scythe and going to the door.

"I'm going for a walk,"


	25. Revelation

**A/N: **Remember what I said about Alan knowing that Eric was killing people? Yeah...and...well Tommy can't control himself when he drinks, go figure. Oh well, your reviews are amazing dolls~! And go check out 'Grim Reaper Dispatch Files' kittens~!

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><p>Alan winced and opened his mouth in a silent scream, clutching his chest and shuddering as the pain grew worse, blacking out the edges of his vision. He'd panicked earlier when he saw ugly dark thorn covered vines wrapping around his wrist and burning into his skin. He cringed and wiped the sweat from his forehead slowly, cracking an eye open when Erica pawed at his shoulder. She mewed quietly and cocked her head to the side, suddenly purring when she saw her master in such a frightening position. He groaned quietly and ripped open his shirt, stopping and going wide eyed when he saw the vines covering his entire arm and half of his chest. Erica mewed again and crawled over to his chest, gently pawing at the mass of vines that appeared over his heart.<p>

"E-erica...? G-get E-eric...h-help him..." He clenched his eyes shut and let out another silent scream, tears flowing form his eyes. He hugged himself close and whimpered quietly, watching the cat run off before he passed out again.

"_Thomas you really need to learn to control your drinking, you know that?" Alan sighed and pulled the taller brunette to his feet as they slipped into an alley. Thomas simply giggled and tried standing again, clinging to the wall. "See? You drink too much! You can't even stand!"_

"_nonsense...let's go see...the professor~! He'll be so happy to see us~!" Alan dragged him up and sighed, shaking his head._

"_It's four in the morning, Tom. I doubt he'd be thrilled to see us at such a late hour..." Thomas stopped and giggled again, holding him tight and wrapping his arms around his waist, pulling them over to a wall._

"_Well if professor won't enjoy having some company in his coffin...perhaps you'd be willing to take his place~?" Alan furrowed his eyebrows as Thomas pinned him to the wall and slid a leg between his. "Come on, Allie...I know you want it...and if Eric won't give it to you then I will~" He leaned in close and squeaked when Alan pushed him away, falling on the ground. "A-Alan~? What's wrong?"_

"_No Thomas. It's disgusting and wrong! Don't ever talk to me like that again, got it?" Thomas just sat there and stared up at him, swallowing hard and shoving up his glasses. He sniffed and stood up slowly, pulling him into a hug and nuzzling his neck._

"_I'm sorry, Alan..."He sniffed a little and grinned when the smaller reaper held him. Whether it was the alcohol or just from his own personal dry spell, he shivered and nuzzled his neck gently, nipping it a little. He blinked when Alan tensed up and pushed him away and slapped him._

"_Didn't you hear me, Tom? I told you not to do that!" Thomas held his cheek and bit his lip, looking at the ground and sniffling. Alan was about to continue lecturing him when he heard quiet talking not too far off._

"_...I can help you...just close your eyes and trust me..." He blinked and looked in the direction of the voice, furrowing his eyebrows when it sounded like Eric. _

"_Stay here. I'll be back in a minute," Thomas continued to rub his bruised cheek and nodded, still apologising silently. He sniffed and watch the other brunette run off._

"_...You swear I won't feel anything?"_

"_I promise, Miss," Alan stopped by the wall and listened to their conversation quietly, peeking over to look at the two and covering his mouth. _

_There was Eric, summoning his scythe and smiling a little when she turned around, closing her eyes. He ran a hand through his hair and slashed her quickly, shuddering a little and apologising quietly._

"_I'm sorry...it's only to save him..." He swallowed and looked over his shoulder, freezing when he saw Alan and suddenly ran off. Alan blinked and watched him run, jumping when he felt a hand on his shoulder._

"_Al?" the brunette jumped and looked over his shoulder._

"_I...I don't feel so good..." He sniffed and fainted suddenly against Thomas._


	26. Sanctuary

**A/N:** Ya know Id almost completely forgotten about Eric... And I apologise profusely for the severe delay! I had no idea what to write for this one, not one clue, but ow it's all better! I appreciate your reviews, darlings! Theyve been so sweet and loving~! Thank you all and also thank you for being such faithful readers~!

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><p>Eric yanked on his hair as he lay on the pew in a heap, the pain in his head almost unbearable. He could feel the demon raging in his mind from being on hallowed ground for so long. The nun was kind enough to let him stay in exchange for meeting with the priest. Now if only the old sod would show up so he could get out of here and get the demon out of his head.<p>

"Nnngh! Would you quit flailing around in there? For the love of god, demon are you trying to kill me?" He cringed and felt a sudden pain in his abdomen, falling off the pew and hitting his head on the one in front, curling up in a ball.

"_It's your fault we're in here, reaper! You of all people should know that entering hallowed grounds can be deadly! The fact that we're in here is taking us away from helping that pathetic lump of nothing you're so desperate to protect! Now get up and get me the hell out of here! I'm starting to burn!" _Eric cringed and curled up tighter, pulling off his glasses and tossing them off in some random corner. He tried standing slowly and almost collapsed, clinging to the pews and looking around. He sighed quietly and leaned against it, shuddering when he caught sight of the confessional. _"You worried about him still? I bet that mentor of yours would have a fit if he saw the state you were in...though from what I see...he was possessed too, wasn't he? And we all know what happens to possessed reapers, don't we?" _Eric went wide eyed and stared at the booth again, shaking his head and punching himself in the face.

"_Mr. Riley? What on earth are you talking about? Isn't reapers being possessed just some—OW! What the hell was that for?"_

"_My god Slingby, don't be ridiculous! You think I'd make something like this up? Are you that bloody stupid?" The older reaper slapped him hard across the face again, shoving him against a wall and storming off. "Stupid, idiotic boy! How did you ever graduate from the academy? I bet you'd fall for the first little weakling that came your way, wouldn't you, Slingby?"He narrowed his eyes at the younger reaper and snatched his scythe away, eyes flashing before he ran off after some poor soul. Eric just stood against the wall staring silently and shaking his head and adjusting his glasses._

"_Oh Undertaker is not gonna like this, the last thing I need is more overtime...he's gonna kill me..." he shook his head and picked his scythe back up, running after the older reaper._

"Mr. Slingby? Reverend Mother said she'd found a poor soul in the streets, I assume you are him?" The reaper nodded slowly and watched the old man intently. "I am father O'Riley...and you are always welcome here..." The old man smiled and continued on his way. Eric continued to stare at him before following silently, cringing when he felt the demon rage in his head once more.

"Aaahhhhh, get out of my head..." The priest stopped and turned around quickly, staring at the reaper. In an instant, the priest had run back to him and was sprinkling holy water on him.

"_I told you it was a terrible idea to come here, reaper! Do something!"_Eric shook his head violently and hissed when the holy water hit his bare skin. He felt a sudden burning sensation over his whole body, looking up to see the priest was holding a crucifix to his back. _"You idiot, that's an exorcism! He draws me out and you die! Slap him or something, reaper!" _Eric cringed and felt the holy water hit him again, finally hearing what the priest had been reciting.

"P-please..." Eric cringed again and summoned his scythe, unable to stand the assault on his body or the demon shouting in his head. He stood quickly and slashed the priest before he could continue his ritual, staring in shock at the body. "What did I...?"

"_Thank god! We're one step closer to your precious little Allie sticking arou—OI! Listen to me when I'm talking you no bloody—what in Lucifer's name are you staring at?"_ The demon stopped raging when he realised Eric was staring at a group of nuns.

"Sir? Is everything alright, we heard a- AAHH" before Eric could stop himself he'd gone to the group of nuns and slashed them quickly, catching all but one.

"Y-you...you monster! How could you?" She stared at the possessed reaper before running past him and out of the church.

"_You moron! Go after her! You'll be caught for sure!"_

* * *

><p>"Boss, this ridiculous. Why don't we just go home?"<p>

"Because Ronald, we've got to find Slingby and eliminate him before he causes any more damage." Ronald stopped flipping through his death list and stared at the older reaper. William gave him a look and straightened up, adjusting his glasses. "Don't give me that look. You expected that we could just welcome him back with open arms? The man is a murderer, Simply giving him a pay cut or a demotion or overtime won't fix this. I can't even fire him, Ronald. The man will be completely erased from the records,"

"He'll be executed..." William nodded slowly and looked over the death list again, going wide eyed when a mass of names suddenly appeared. "Boss?"

"Come along, Ronald. We have business to attend to." He pushed up his glasses again and hopped off the rooftop, followed by Ronald.


	27. Confrontation

**A/N: **It's already here~! Ain't that amazing?Anyways uh...anyone else have final exams coming up? I mean...damn! Anyways your reviews have been lovely all of them~! I love you all~!

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><p>"<em>You can't be serious, boss! I can't do something so wretched to my mentor!" The silver haired reaper shook his head and righted his glasses. "Boss please, there has to be something else. An exorcist, what about an exorcism?" The old man stared.<em>

"_It doesn't work that way, Lieutenant. You need to realise we aren't exactly human anymore. All you can do is kill him. Do it or I will, Lieutenant Slingby," Eric stared at the silver haired reaper with utter shock. The Undertaker was the only person to ever call him Lieutenant anymore. "Well?"_

"_I'm sorry boss, I can't kill my mentor."_

"_Then I will, say your goodbyes while you still can." _

"Stay away from me! Please, I won't tell a soul what I saw, I swear I won't!" Eric opened his mouth to speak but fell to his knees again, crying out in agony. When he looked back up at the nun, his eyes were glowing red and he was growling at her.

"_I can't trust you, holy woman. You'll run to a priest, demand I be exorcised. Have this poor deluded reaper murdered by his own kind...I know your type, woman."_ The nun went wide eye and shrank back even more, sobbing and praying for something, anything, anyone to save her.

"Eric? Thank God, there you are! Whoa...what's up with your eyes?" Thomas stopped short of running to him and stared silently, shaking his hair out of his eyes. He'd been wandering all over to search for Eric and...why were his eyes glowing? He blinked and took a step forward, squeaking when the saw a scythe flying towards him. "AAAHHH! What the hell was that for?"

"_Bugger off, reaper. This doesn't concern you!" _

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><p>"Boss, be serious. Odds are he's probably long gone by—Will, look out!" Ronald pushed William away from the coming saw and cried out, hissing when it landed and dug into his shoulder. "Ahhhh..." He cringed when it fell away a few reels of his record came flying out.<p>

"Ronald are you alright? God that's a nasty cut...can you still hold up your scythe?" The blond nodded weakly and looked in the direction the saw came from. Both reapers heard a loud crash and stared intently. "Come on, I think we might have found Slingby..."

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><p>"Be careful kitten. Eric won't exactly be very approachable if the demon has control of him," The smaller reaper stood panting against the wall, staring again at the vines peeking out from his sleeve. "You should return back to bed, this is no place for a reaper in your condition." He shook his head and straightened up, clinging to his scythe for dear life.<p>

"No...must...find Eric...need to...help him...ohh," he grabbed his chest and fell to his knees, gasping and sobbing. "P-professor..."

"Stay right here, I'll get a wagon!" the old reaper ran back to his shop down the street, returning soon and helping the crumpled reaper into it. "I realise it's not very graceful...but it'll keep your little bit of strength up," Alan nodded and looked up quietly as Undertaker wheeled it to the group of reapers nearby.

* * *

><p>"Eric Slingby...Honestly now. I never thought I'd see the day when I would have to confront you in this situation. Unfortunately it seems to have come to-"<p>

"_Get to the point, reaper!" _Eric growled and lunged at the older brunette, scythes crashing together. Both Ronald and Thomas watched from the sidelines, too stunned to move much like the nun. Her desperate prayers ringing through the air with each crash of metal.

"This has gone far beyond simple termination, Slingby. I've received orders to—AAAHHH! Bastard!" He grabbed his arm as threads of his record began flying out, the bright reels stunning the possessed reaper out of his daze.

"Ahhh...my head...Jesus..." William narrowed his eyes as the older reaper dropped to his knees in pain, grasping his head. He held a hand out to stand up and William took his chance to slice his arm, cutting it at the joint and severing the tendons. "AAAHHHH! William what the hell?"

"This has gone far beyond simply firing you, Slingby. I'm afraid that...you will be erased from dispatch records and executed for your crimes," Eric looked up at the supervisor in shock, barely able to comprehend what he'd just said.


	28. Anger

**A/N: **Yei~! Slightly longer chapter~! I'm trying to get them back to my usual length, it might take some time but we're getting close...can you feel it~? I can! I love your reviews everyone~! They've been amazing and I hope i'm keeping you all on your toes~! Thank you all for keeping up so far!

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><p>"Knox! Barker! Hold him down!" William aimed the clippers at Eric's heart, poised to strike. The younger reapers and the nun stared silently as William was about to extend his scythe, only being stopped by a loud cry.<p>

"Ahhhhh! It hurts! Mr. Undertaker please!" William stopped and stared at the odd scene. Undertaker was standing over Alan in a wagon, giggling into his sleeve. He helped the ill reaper to his feet and offered him his scythe. The brunette looked up and saw Eric on his knees, holding his scythe tighter. "E-eric...? What's...going on here...?" He kept staring at the blond on the ground then to William and the two reapers holding him down.

"Mr. Humphries, this may be rather hard to understand but Mr. Slingby has been accused of a grave crime. I've been ordered to execute him on sight if the situation became desperate as it has," Alan simply stared at William and raised his scythe to the older reaper, stumbling a little. Eric went wide eyed and shoved the younger reapers away from him when he saw Alan stumble. "What are you two doing? I told you to hold him!"

"I'm sorry boss, we tried but his eyes went all funny and..."

"They're not funny, Ron! Its more of-"

"You should know more than anyone about possessed reapers, William. It's impossible for two children to hold down a reaper of Eric's size," All but Eric turned to the old man for a moment, watching him stifle his giggled while the older blonds eyes flashed and he pulled away from Thomas and Ronald, shocking them all.

"Ronnie~!" Ronald was jolted out of his surprise and ducked away from Eric trying to punch him, instead hitting the wall. The revving of an engine had them searching around until a flash of red came down and slashed Eric's arm, making it fall limp at his side. All of them were amazed at the sight of Grell, scythe revving and poised to strike again. "Touch him again, demon! Touch my Ronnie one more time and see what happens~!"

"_Like you're man enough to do it. D'you plan to kill me, Red?" _Grell revved the saw again and swung it down against the possessed reapers, sparks flying everywhere. Ronald dashed away from the fight and stared at them, being pulled further away by the Undertaker. _"Ohhh, looks like your friends aren't going to back you up, reaper. Give up and let me do my work!"_

"Never! I'd rather paint a picture with Eric's blood than allow you to torture him any longer! He'd look gorgeous covered in red~!" The chainsaw roared to life again and he swung it, hitting the blonds arm again and sporting a psychotic grin when the blades caused a few drops of blood to his him. He flipped his hair over his shoulder and started cackling, running towards the older reaper with the scent of blood in his nose. "Come on, demon~! You wouldn't deny a lady her fight, would you?"

"_Ha! You're quite ugly for a lady, Red!" _The others except for William and the nun gasped loudly, backing away when the redhead stared and ran for the possessed blond again. They knew to never call Grell ugly, unless they wanted to be shredded. _"Ooohhhh, did I hit a nerve~?"_ Eric laughed maniacally and ran to the stunned redhead, burying his saw in the bricks as Grell jumped away at the last moment. He growled and yanked at the scythe with all of his strength, falling back when he gave an almighty tug with no luck.

"Awwwww, did you lose your weapon~? Silly little demon, didn't you know that a saw is damn hard to remove once it's stuck? Poor baby~!" Grell smirked and went to deal a fatal blow to the possessed reaper, just to be pushed away by the Undertaker. "What the hell? How dare you deny—Oooohhhh~!" He stopped ranting when he saw the older reaper. His hair was pulled out of his eyes, scythe against Eric's throat, he was even laughing! Quietly at first but then it rose to a twisted cackle, shocking the younger reapers and the nun trying to run, far too terrified to move.

The blade pressed against Eric's throat enough to cause pressure but not to draw blood. His eyes returned to their proper green and he looked around, panicking slightly when he saw Alan standing nearby, clinging to his scythe and panting heavily. He shuddered at the sight and started sobbing quietly.

"What do you have to say for yourself, Slingby?" The blond kept his eyes fixed downward, shaking before Grell's chainsaw revved again.

"Say it quick, Blondie. I'd pick my words carefully if I were you..." Eric glanced up at the redhead and sighed, scooting away from the blade and shaking his head.

"It wasn't supposed to go this far...I just wanted to save Alan...no one was supposed to know..." He sighed and the silver haired reaper moved his scythe away slightly. This was Eric, wasn't it? The real Eric Slingby, before his mentor had him, before he became insensitive and heartless. How long would he last before the demon took over again. "Just one more—AAAAAHHHH!" He grabbed his head and started shouting, standing after a moment and snatching Will's scythe away.

"_There's nothing you fools can do either! Not you, Mr. Fancy Bossman, or you children or the dying boy, not even you, you old hag!" _He smirked and pointed the clippers at Grell, jumping away when the redhead swung the chainsaw. He started laughing maniacally, not watching Ronald or Thomas summon their own scythes until they came flying at him. He dashed out of their range and smirked when they almost hit each other, using their distraction to bring the pole down hard against Ronald's head.

"Ahhhhhh...Wh-" The possessed reaper growled again and hit him harder, smirking when he fell to the ground, followed hard whacks to William, Thomas and Grell's heads. He narrowed his eyes at the old man and poised the clippers to knock him out as well.

"Don't even try it, demon. I've been around far too long for you to fool me!" The possessed reaper blinked and started laughing again.

"_Rubbish! I've been around longer than you can imagine! I was there when the opportunists were cast out! I refuse to go back to that pit of despair!" _Undertaker stared at him, speechless and wide eyed. The nun watched them for a moment before running off, sobbing loudly. Eric turned and glared at her, eyes glowing red. _"I'll come back for you, old man!"_ He narrowed his eyes before running away from the two reapers, chasing after the nun. Undertaker twirled his scythe and slung it over his shoulder once it looked like a grave marker and stared at Alan.

"We should get you back to the shop, kitten. You need t—Alan? Alan? Where did he—Oh no..." He sighed and pulled his hair in front of his eyes again, pulling the unconscious reapers into the wheelbarrow and dragging it back to his shop.


	29. Death

**A/N: **It's the climax people~! Though just a heads up here soon that Eric and Allie will disappear for a bit after the next chapter~! And I apologise in advance for both Will and Grell...but anyway! I love all of your reviews everyone! They've been so sweet and charming~! -hot beverages for all-

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><p>"Aaaaahhhhh, god that smarts..." William cringed and glanced around slowly, panicking slightly when all he saw were dark blobs. He sat up qickly and saw a Grell shaped blob curled up between...well two other reaper shaped blobs. He rubbed the side of his head again and perked up when everything suddenly came into focus.<p>

"You don't stay down for very long at all, do you kitten~?" Undertaker grinned and stepped away from the brunette, nudging the other three awake gently and returning their glasses to them. They looked to be in as much pain as William, though Ronald was the only one dazed by the looks of it. "Don't rip those stitches, Ronnie~" Will looked back to the old man and saw he had a nasty cut peeking out from under his bangs.

"Uh...Sir? Are y-"

"Where's Alan, Professor? He's not...I mean, is he?" the sliver haired reaper stared through his fringe before looking at the ground. "Professor...?"

"I don't know, little one. He took off after Eric, all we can hope is that he found him and is still alive. He said he's only got one more...but I feel that the demon in his head will kill him before he gets that chance. If that happens..."

"Slingby will be dead and that bloody beast will have a new body. Demons corrupt and invade a reapers mind until there is nothing left. Memories, fears, emotions...everything that makes that reaper who they are, is slowly burned away..." Both Ronald the Undertaker were staring at William quietly. William was almost an expert on demons, if for no other reason than to be aware of the creatures he hated so passionately. Grell cleared his throat after a moment, pulling his hair back into a loose braid.

"It's a scorched earth basically. The demon rages through the brain and burns everything behind it. Whatever body that demon was in before-"

"He's not a demon, boys. I'm afraid he's a smidge holier than that," Undertaker pushed his hair out of his eyes and giggled when he saw the looks on their faces. "William, you remember Paradise Lost, right?" The brunette nodded and furrowed his eyebrows.

"Regarding the Angelic War, correct? What are you driving a—you mean to tell me Slingby is possessed by an angel?"

"A fallen angel. He said something about the opportunists. He's a little more dangerous than your standard demon I should say. Tommy..." The pink haired reaper looked up and shook his head.

"I can't do that to-"

"Boss. That nun just showed up on my death list. We need to go!" William stared at him and nodded slowly, standing when Thomas pushed him back down.

"I'll go. I have to kill Mr. Slingby anyway...let me do it Mr. Spears," William continued to stare and shook his head.

"No, Barker. This is a job for an experienced reaper, not a kid from the Glasses Department," Undertaker pushed him back down and grabbed a handful of grave markers.

"You're absolutely right, ducky~! I'll go with him! You kids stay here and rest, especially you Ronnie. You need to heal and Grell needs to also unless she wants to get wrinkles~" Grell squeaked at the mention of wrinkles. "Come along Tommy-dear~!"

* * *

><p>"Eric please, I know you're still in there! That demon can't have completely taken you away!" Eric glared at the brunette, eyes glowing crimson.<p>

"_Not for much longer, reaper! You need to realise that the price of long life is heavy. You will live and I will have a new body! Slingby is an idiot who has been blinded by love for far too long!"_

"That's not true! I...I know him...he's kind and compassionate and would never...Nnnnngh!" He gasped and went wide eyed, clinging to his scythe enough to turn his knuckles white and coughing heavily, spitting out a bit of blood. The nun stopped sobbing and saw his suffering, watching silently before she took off running again. "Eric...please...I know you're in there...please...help me..." Eric blinked and saw his eyes become darker, vines creeping out further.

"Alan...please...don't be—AAAHHHH! Just one more...please Al...I'm so close...d-don't give in..." He cringed as the demon took over again and stared at him silently. Alan looked up and blinked, his vision much darker than it was moment ago. For a moment longer the blond stared and wandered off after the nun, leaving the brunette to sob on the dirty pavement.

* * *

><p>"Where are they, Professor?" Thomas looked around silently and bit his lip, not sre where exactly they would be. "I mean wouldn't we be able to—wait a second...Al?" He went wide eyed and ran over the limp reaper, shaking him slightly. "Alan? A-alan...? Alan wake up! Please don't be dead! I swear I'll help you! Don't be dead, please don't be dead!"<p>

"Don't cry Tommy...you go after Eric. I'll make sure Allie's ok...now go!" Thomas stared up at the older reaper with tears in his eyes, sniffing and looking back at the heap that is Alan Humphries. He sniffed as a few tears fell on the smaller reaper. He stood slowly and wiped his eyes before nodding slowly, looking around and sniffing. Undertaker looked up at him as he knelt by the young reaper, smiling. "Go find Eric. We'll be along soon enough," Thomas nodded slowly and ran off.

"Now to get you back on your feet~"

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><p>"Sir, please... I beg of you! Let me go, I swear I won't tell the police or the Arch Diocese! Please, I beg of you!" The nun collapsed on the pavement and started crying desperately, praying once again. Eric stopped and twirled the pole around until the blades were above her heart.<p>

"_You lost your chance, holy woman. The reaper is too afraid to kill you himself..."_ He growled and brought the scythe down to her, hitting the pavement instead. He hissed at her as she rolled away and stumbled to her feet, taking off again at a mad dash. _"...I will make you suffer, holy woman."_

The nun didn't look back as she ran, hoping to get as far away as possible. She gasped when she ran into a wall and looked around, sobbing when she realised she'd run into another alley. She pulled her hood off and cried heavily into it, gasping for air as it hit her that she would die suffering. She had never planned to die at the hands of a dangerous man, but as an old woman warm and safe in her bed.

"_Say your prayers." _

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><p>"Boss, Grell...I'm fine, I swear! Now get off of me!" Ronald stood up quickly and walked away from the older reapers. He was lying through his teeth of course but it was all he could to get the two off of him. William kept an eye on him and righted his glasses, glancing over to Grell before walking to the door and furrowing his eyebrows.<p>

"...Where's my scythe?" Both Grell and Ronald shrugged before the blond cringed from moving his arm wrong. Grell went wide eyed when he saw a small patch of blood appearing at his shoulder.

"Oh my god, Ronnie~! You need to rest! We're not going anywhere away from here, now just lay down and relax!" He grabbed his overcoat and pressed it into the wound on Ronald's shoulder, biting his lip hard and looking back at Will every so often. William adjusted his glasses and sighed, returning to the door. "Will...what are you doing? Didn't you hear me? Ronnie ripped his stitches! Go find something to-"

"Sew up his arm then follow me, Sutcliff. We've got a possessed reaper to chase down." William narrowed his eyes for a moment before he left the shop, door slamming behind him. Both reapers stood silently and stared after him, a confident smirk crossing Grell's face. Ronald furrowed his eyebrows at the redhead's sudden change in expression, watching him walk to the storage cabinet and grab some thread.

"Ow! Grell please, not so rough!"

"You don't know rough, little boy! I know rough, thanks to dear Will...he loves to play hard. I know him, better than you could ever dream to, and I know what he wants. So why don't you go back to chasing girls on your mower?" Ronald stared back at him and winced when the redhead finished and forced him up. "Will never wanted you, Blondie. He just wanted you to stop following him around like a lovesick puppy, understand?"

"W-why are you saying this...? Are you that jealous that you would spread lies like that? Grell, that's just sick! It's sick and di—oi! What was that for?"

"I never lie, little boy. William never wanted you, and you know that! You can see it in his eyes, haven't you ever wondered why he's never showed any sort of affection~?"

"How did you know about that? What goes on betw-"

"You mean what isn't going on? He tells me everything, Ronald. He'll tell me how pathetically needy you are, how you're so desperate for him to even hold you, tell you a kind word, how you beg for him to tell you his feelings are mutual. And you know what we do after we have a good laugh about it?" Grell snatched his coat away and shoved the younger reaper into a coffin, standing over him and holding him down with a heel digging into his stomach. Ronald was far too shocked to say anything, Grell instead kneeling down close to his ear. "He'll shove me down and have his oh so wicked way with me. He loves it when I scream for him, Ronald. Drives him crazy when I beg for him to make it hurt, you can only dream about the absolutely wretched things he does to me..."

"S-shut up. Y-you're lying! William wouldn't do something like that! He told me so himself! He said that he was done with you!" Grell smirked and stood up, grabbing a heavy book.

"He doesn't love you, Ronald. You're just an inconvenience to him, now go back to sleep~" Ronald went wide eyed as Grell shifted and slammed the book hard against his head, knocking him out once more. "Stupid little boy. Never stood a chance," He stood and slammed the coffin shut. He stuck his tongue out and nailed it shut quickly. "Sweet dreams, Ronnie dear~" He shook his hair out of his eyes and hurried off after William.

* * *

><p>"We can...deal with that demon...let's just...run away...please?"<p>

"It's not that easy...I don't want to run only to lose you..."

"You won-"

"Alan! Thank god you're alright~!" Thomas dropped his scythe and hugged him tight, sighing heavily. Eric snarled and his eyes glowed red, shoving the two out of the way. "E-eric? What's—Oh my god..."

William and Grell caught his wrists and pinned him against the wall, stepping away from risking the older reaper trying to attack. The other reapers stared silently before Alan cleared his throat, pushing his hair out of his eyes and shaking slightly. He made to say something to William and Grell but instead grabbed his chest, hissing.

"Aaaahhhhh! Oooohhhh...Oh no..." He gasped and collapsed, holding his scythe tight. He cringed and glanced up at Thomas and Eric, both gasping when they saw his eyes become darker and darker. "I'm sorry..."

"Let go of me! I'm not going to lose him!" Eric growled and tugged his wrists away from the younger reapers, picking William's spear p once more and dashing over to the nun. He grabbed the sobbing girl and forced her to her feet as she held on tight to the wall, begging once more for him not to kill her. "I'm so sorry...but I don't have a choice anymore..." The girl stopped crying and stared at him for a long moment, looking to Alan slowly rising to his feet.

"I..."

"Don't do it, Slingby. You'll lose yourself to that creature if you do..." Eric stared at him before aiming the scythe at the girl's heart, Thomas summoning his own and slowly advancing to strike on the older reaper. He didn't see Alan trying to run over to them or William and Grell trying to stop them. And then...

"...!" It was like time had stopped. Thomas stood in shock as the nun went limp and the small remainder of life left the reapers eyes. He swallowed and his grip on the scythe faltered as he fell to his knees, still shocked at the sight before him. William grabbed the handle jst as he looked up at the other two.

"Oh...my...god..."


	30. Limbo

**A/N:** So...we hit our climax~! And now we see the consequences...don't despair too much though my dears~! So to anyone confused by last chapter hopefully this will clear up a few things. Your reviews have been so very sweet and loving~! I really hope you guys continue to read and enjoy~! Thank you all! -group hug-

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><p>"Uunnnnhh, my head..." Eric cringed and covered his eyes as he stirred, flinching from the light. It was so bright, so blindingly bloody bright. It was for a good many moments the blond thought he'd gone blind. He cringed and made to rub his eyes slowly, hitting his glasses instead. What the...he didn't have glasses a moment ago, did he? What had happened even? He remembered running, hiding out in some cave, those few quiet moments with Alan...and pain. Blinding, crippling pain that rips apart every part of the body, destroys the soul little by little and suddenly nothing. Quiet scratching reaching his ears and he slowly sat up, cringing a little from a twinge in his abdomen. "W-where am I...?"<p>

"How's your head, kid?" the blond blinked a few times before turning to see an old reaper sitting at a desk. Desk...scratching...he looked around properly and finally realised he was in the middle of the Dispatch office, or what it looked like at least. It was too bright to be certain bt it had the exact same layout as the Dispatch. "Oi, Slingby. Pay attention," He stood slowly with a wince and stared at the other reaper. "Been a while since you looked that good, kid."

"Who are you?" The old reaper chuckled and stood slowly, pulling a small glasses case out of his pocket and handing it over. Eric snatched it away and opened it quickly, staring at a brand new pair of his glasses. "How...?"

"If you really must ask...then you don't want to know, kid. Now to other matters," The man slapped the younger reaper hard and stepped back. "What the hell were you thinking, huh? Didn't I teach you better than to get mixed up in things beyond your capacity?" He shook his head and watched the blond for a moment, smirking. "Figured out who I am yet?" Eric nodded slowly and straightened up, ruffling his hair a little and looking around.

"Mr. Riley-"

"Bill. I'm not your mentor anymore there's no reason to be so formal."

"...Bill...What is this place exactly?"

"Ah yes! Well...this is limbo. You're not alive, but you're not dead either! It's a strange place really, spent the longest time here before I could pass on,"

"Pass on?" He blinked as the old man hopped on the desk, nodding slowly. He grabbed a few papers and pulled a leg up, filling them out on his knee.

"I don't understand. So I'm dead? Wouldn't I be...well, why don't I feel anything? I mean look at me! I was a wreck, my head was about to explode, And-"

"You were run through, died instantly. Just look at your clothes," The blond blinked and looked down. His clothes were like brand new, well almost. The only imperfection being a massive bloodstain on his shirt. He furrowed his eyebrows and pulled the garment open, dumbfounded by the lack of a large enough wound.

"I don't understand..." The old man took off his glasses and sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"It's pretty easy really. When you die it's basically like a reset for your body. A reset when you fall asleep, understand?"

"I've heard that before...was it like falling asleep for you too?"

"Hardly. It was like a lead pipe being slammed against my head. I wanted to throw up at first, it had been so long since I'd not felt that weight-"

"Weight?" The man narrowed his eyes and righted his glasses.

"Slingby, I was possessed a week before leaving the academy. Spent almost 300 years in constant pain, always thinking my head would explode. After a few years I would beg for death at night, hoping for some sort of relief. It was pure murder, Eric...when I died it was like a huge weight had been lifted. I'd never felt as alive as I had when I came here," The blond nodded slowly and leaned against another desk. "So I'll ask again, kid...how's your head?"

"It's like I've been sleeping for years and finally woke up. For the first time in a very long time it's like I can think clearly, I don't have someone there constantly shouting and grating my eardrums..." The old man smirked and set the papers aside. "But...I suppose Alan's probably gone on already hasn't he?"

"Don't be so sure," He motioned to a reaper lying in a heap not too far off, grabbing a few more papers as he glanced back at Eric. "You know him?"

"Yeah..." he stared at the body quietly as he made his way over, kneeling next to him and rolling him onto his back. For a moment he almost jumped back and stared in shock at the sight before him. Vines were peeking out from his clothes, taunting him almost. "I took too long...No...he's got to be alright! They can't be everywhere can they...?" He swallowed hard and ripped the brunettes shirt open freezing when he saw the vines converging over his heart. "...My god...B-but he can't be dead! I collected the thousand souls! I gave up so much! It can't have been for nothing! Please Al, please don't leave me here alone..." He pulled Alan's body into his arms and shook him, slapped him, yanked his hair, anything to make him respond. "No...! Don't leave me here!" He dropped the reapers body and started sobbing into his chest, pounding the ground. He barely registered a hand on his shoulder until it was followed with a voice.

"Eric. Listen to me...that's just a story, no one's ever managed it before. Even if they had, the only thing they managed to do was get executed for murder. Eric you need to realise that he's probably going to pass on, and you can't follow. I'm sorry," Eric looked up at the old reaper and shook his head. Alan couldn't really pass on, could he? Would he really leave him here alone? "Oh yeah, now's your last chance to check his pockets. I'd do it before he goes," Eric remained still as the man walked away and sighed, looking back and prying his coat open. He rifled through every pocket until he found what he was sure his old mentor had mentioned.

"I don't...this isn't funny old m—what the hell?" He looked up when he felt snowflakes on his shoulders, blinking when he realised there were sparkling flakes falling on the smaller reaper. As they fell and melted into his body, the vines shrank back until they were only over his heart, slowly changing shape until it resembled a black rose instead. "Did it...?" He looked up slowly to see his eyes gradually coming back to life, if not a tad bleary. He swallowed hard as the brunette stared up at him, smiling slightly before he began to fade away. "W-wait a minute...! Don't leave me yet! I can't lose you, Al! Please, stay just a bit longer!" He threw himself on the smaller reaper only to land on his stomach, looking around in a panic. He stood up quickly and looked around the room, "Where is he? Where did he go?"

"I don't know, he might have gone back or he could have passed on. It's not in my control," The old reaper had gone back to his paperwork, not seeing the blond run over and yank him up by his tie.

"Tell me where he is, old man! Did he go on or did he go back? I don't want to go by myself now tell me where he went!"

"I don't know, Slingby now get your filthy hands off of me!" The blond snarled and slapped the man hard, shuddering violently while he tried desperately to keep back tears. "What if I said that he went on?"

"Then I want to go with him! I'm not going back alone!"

"So you would rather burn for eternity then go on? Do you really want that? Saint Peter will reject you when you try to go in the gates. You'll be friends with Lucifer before you are with Gabriel, am I clear? Now go back...you're strong enough to get along on your own," Eric just stared at him, shaking his head as he wiped his eyes before vanishing from the old reapers sight. "Don't fuck up your second chance, boys..."

* * *

><p>"Hello? Can anybody hear me! Someone get me out of here please!" Ronald squeaked when he heard shuffling outside of the coffin, pounding on the lid again. "Someone help me please! I'm begging you it's dark and cra—AAAHHH!" He turned onto his side quickly as a chainsaw tore through the coffin, the lid being thrown off finally. Ronald shuddered and looked up, smiling when he saw William offering his hand. "Oh thank God! You have no idea how-wait a minute...You no good bastard!" He slapped William hard once he stood and stormed off.<p>

"What the...?"

"What a silly boy, now might I have my scythe back dear Will?" the redhead blinked and cocked his head to the side. "Please...? I got rid of him for you, for us...please? I want us to be happy, please Will?"

"Get off of me. Did you put him in that coffin, Sutcliff?"

"Hmm? How else could I keep him away from you? You've told me so many times...nothing happens with you two. It's so boring...you miss the way we were...remember~?" Grell slid a finger along the brunettes chest and smirked, squeaking when William shoved him off.

"Stay away from me, Sutcliff. And kiss this little toy of yours goodbye."

"But...but...I need a scythe!"

"I will arrange that for you. Now out of my way," He shook his hair out of his eyes and walked off after Ronald.

* * *

><p>Thomas sighed as he watched the two reapers lying motionless in the centre of the room. He was thankful the Undertaker was giving him privacy with his friends. When the others returned, they both thought something was off about them but couldn't quite place it. He sighed and leaned against the wall as he watched the two reapers, hoping for some sign that they weren't really dead. There had to be something, anything! Even a twitch would make him happy at this point.<p>

"Come on..." He sighed and sat by them again, grabbing Alan's hand and holding it tight. He sniffed and pressed his forehead to their hands, shuddering as he struggled to hold back his tears. He barely noticed any movement until he felt his hand being squeezed. After a moment he looked up and furrowed his eyebrows, falling out of his chair when Eric gasped and shot bolt upright suddenly. The larger grabbed his chest and panted heavily as he looked around, staring at the smaller reapers. "M-mr. Slingby?"

"What...happened...? I was...we..." Eric ran a hand through his hair and sighed, swallowing when he saw Alan squeeze his friends hand. He looked down at the brunette and nudged him gently, furrowing his eyebrows when he didn't move. "I could've sworn..." He shook his head and turned to stand slowly, walking to the fireplace and sighing. Thomas blinked and stared silently as the older reaper wandered, catching sight of...where he should be impaled. His clothes were still damaged but the wound was gone, hidden by the blood soaked clothes. He sighed quietly and shoved his hands in his pockets, furrowing his eyebrows as he pulled out a glasses case. "But how did they...?" He shook his hair out of his eyes and slid on a brand new pair of glasses and swallowed as the Undertaker came in, giggling quietly.

"Oh my~! Seems you were right to not bury them yet, kitten~!" He giggled and pulled Thomas to his feet before staring down at Alan, grinning wildly as his eyes fluttered open. "Now to get you two fixed up and out of here~!"


	31. Moving On

**A/N:** Sorry this took so long~! Basically I'm at a point where I dunno whether to do a sequel or keep this one going. I leave the decision to you guys, honestly. I want to to know what you guys would think but either way the focus would shift to Ronald and Will (And Tommy and Unny). Um...but yeah~!

* * *

><p>"My apologies, Mr. Spears. I simply feel that my abilities would be better suited to General Affairs..." William nodded silently as he read through the transfer papers. This was their third transfer in the last two weeks and it was getting ridiculous. "I do hope you can understand my reasons for leaving," The older reaper sighed and set the papers down, looking up at him.<p>

"You're sure about this, Sims?"

"Yes sir, I'd like to transfer as soon as possible." William nodded slowly and stamped the papers before handing them back and shooing him out of his office. Once the door slammed shut, he stood and made his way to the window and cracked it open, lighting a cigarette. He'd been getting complaints from the other supervisors about the mass of transfers lately, but it wasn't anything he could control! His division took a certain breed of reaper that only came along every few centuries, decades if he was lucky. He rubbed his forehead with his free hand and glared at the door when he heard timid knocking.

"Come in." Thomas peeked in and stared silently, sighing when he saw the man smoking. "What is it, Barker? I'm not in the mood for nonsense right now." He snuffed out the cigarette and returned to his desk, rubbing his temples.

"I-i was simply...b-bringing you t-these reports sir...from that sanatorium investigation? Ronald and I have them finished..." He squeaked when the older reaper snatched the folder from him.

"Why are you bringing them to me then? Knox was in charge of that investigation-"

"Well he's still a little...upset about finding you and Miss Sutcliff together before we left, sir. It's to be expected that he'd want to avoid you, isn't it?"

"I suppose. Is that all it is, Barker?" He nodded and ran a hand through his hair, adjusting the white rose on his lapel. He'd gotten a lot closer to Ronald in the last two years and they'd become almost as close as he'd been to Alan. "Why are you still here, Barker? Do you want overtime?" He jumped and stared at the larger reaper, shaking his head quickly.

"N-no, Sir! S-sorry, Sir!"

"Then perhaps you and Knox should get to work so that you'll avoid overtime. Now get out of my office!" Thomas nodded and ran out the door in a rush. He stopped at his desk and looked up at Ronald, shrugging a little.

"I'm sorry Ronnie...I really did try..." the blond shrugged and stood up slowly. He'd been up pretty late with the younger reaper last night, though he'd been far too drunk to do anything else without seriously injuring himself. "Are you sure you'll be ok?"

"Yeah Tom, I'll be alright. I guess I'll get over him eventually..." He sighed as Thomas ruffled his hair and leaned against the desk. He really couldn't stand to see Ronald upset about his relationship with William failing again. He flicked his hair out of his eyes and smirked as he grabbed his scythe.

"I've got it~! Oh it's so terribly brilliant and wretched...it's perfect ducky~!" He started giggling like the Undertaker and pulled the younger reaper up. "Come on~!" Ronald stared silently and squeaked when the pink haired reaper pulled him up, dragging him out of the office. Ronald couldn't help but stop when he heard a pair of reapers gossiping.

"I heard Spears was under a lot of stress...apparently if we have one more transfer then the higher ups are gonna bring in a pair of reapers from like Japan or something. It's that bad-"

"Don't worry about them Ronnie, come on! We got work to do~!" He squeaked as Thomas continued to drag him off.

* * *

><p>Thomas sighed as he knelt in front of the small headstones, setting a small bouquet of white roses by each of them. He flicked his hair out of his eyes and sighed quietly, holding his scythe and glancing up when he felt the wind change directions suddenly. This always seemed to happen when he came up to pay a visit, almost like someone was trying to talk to him. He shook his head and looked back down at the headstones.<p>

"_Oh god, oh god! What have I done?" Thomas let go of the scythe and slumped to the ground, staring at the impaled reapers as they blurred through his tears. He pulled off his glasses and threw them in some random direction before laying down in a little ball and crying heavily. He glanced up as William held the scythe and yanked the blade out of the two reapers, barely flinching when they collapsed in a tangled heap. "M-mr. Spears...h-how could y-you be so h-heartless...?" Tommy paused and sniffed as he sat up, glancing between the dark haired manager and the fallen reapers, blood slowly soaking their clothes._

"_You killed them, Barker. Not me...you need to learn to take responsibility. Sometimes it is necessary to eliminate those who could cause a problem," The blond scrambled back into a standing position and made to land a hard punch to William's jaw. The furthest he got was raising his fist before he broke down again and collapsed at William's feet, sobbing loudly and clinging to the larger reaper for dear life._

"_How can y-you be so insensitive? W-what if it was R-ronald...?" William stopped and stared down at the reaper sobbing at his feet. _

He shook his head and blew a kiss to each stone before standing once more and walking down the hill again. That night was still raw in his mind and he couldn't help but occasionally break down still with the knowledge that it technically had been his fault they were dead. He shook his head after a few minutes and chuckled to himself, pulling a little pewter key from his pocket and smiling a little when he saw one small but very dark garnet in the middle of the fancy hunk of pewter.

* * *

><p>"Will...? Are you alright, darling~?" Grell poked his head up from under William's desk after twenty minutes with still no reply, cocking his head to the side. He pushed his way out and stood when he looked like he'd been sleeping, only to hear quiet sniffing coming from the stern reaper. "William, are yo-"<p>

"Leave me alone, Grell. I'm not doing this anymore..." The redhead stared quietly and placed a hand on his shoulder only to have it slapped away. "Didn't you hear me? I said get out!"

"Fine! You can bugger off too, William! I'm sick of never knowing what you you want!" He huffed and stormed out of the office, not bothering to glance back at the reaper wiping clove oil from under his eyes.

"That's the end of that. Now if only I could fix things with Ronald..." He sighed quietly and returned to his paperwork.

* * *

><p>"My my...now what's got you so worked up, kitty~? You came in here so quick I didn't get a chance to sterilise the table~" Thomas was about to say something until he heard what the old man said, instantly shuddering and whining.<p>

"P-professor I r-really wish y-you hadn't said that! Y-you seriously had a...a...c-corpse on here before I got here?"

"Well I AM a mortician, little kitty~ and it's never stopped us before with the caskets~!" Thomas was speechless and shoved the old man off before snatching his robe and pulling it on. "Tommy?" The pink haired reaper stared at the ground and sniffed, glancing back at the old man.

"I-i'm cold..." He sniffed and wrapped his arms around himself, squeaking a little when Undertaker wrapped his arms around him and slid off the table, pulling the smaller reaper with him to a coffin.

"I know exactly how to warm up a cold pussy cat~."

* * *

><p>Ronald sighed as he mowed over his last corpse for the day, shoving his death list back in his pocket finally. About time that he finished! For the first time in three months, he didn't have any overtime, he was getting ready to take a nice long vacation, and from what he could tell William was really truly properly finished with Grell! It was definitely looking up for sure.<p>

"Man, just a few more things then I can get out of here, I can't w—huh?" He stopped when a bird hovered in front or his face and began chirping relentlessly. "What do you want, birdy? Jealous because I can leave this rathole city for two weeks? OW! Oi, watch where you put that beak, ya bloody pigeon!" The bird chirped back angrily and a note fell from it's leg, the blond catching it before it landed in a puddle.

"_Knox. My office, immediately. Urgent matter. PS: His name is Iggy and he's a robin, not a pigeon."_

"Are you bloody serious?"

* * *

><p>"Just because we live in the south part of this filthy country doesn't mean we have to eat like barbarians."<p>

"You didn't seem to mind last night, Admit it, you like this weird American food. It's not so terrible,"

"Well it's better than having beans every night. But I miss English food! Whatever happened to the puddings and herring stew and-"

"Relax, Al. If you miss it that bad then I"ll start making English food again. All you have to do is ask,"

"Please, Mr. Slingby?"


End file.
